The Prince and His Contessa
by Kitsune Moonstar
Summary: Zechs and Noin from the their first meeting and throughout their lives.
1. The Prince and His Contessa

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. This is set before Relena's birth. Both Zechs and Noin are about four years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**The Prince and His Contessa**

The garden was warm and sunny. Flowers were in bloom every where, filling the area with a heady fragrance. A fountain cheerfully burbled, and at first glance it was the epitome of a peaceful spring day, perfect for lovers. Stephan Peacecraft knew better. This garden was about to become one of the most important battlefields in his son's life. His son would meet his future wife today, and if all went well, the children would take to one another. That had been the reason behind arranging the marriage so early.

His friend and supporter, Leopold Noin, had a daughter the same age as his son. Politically, it was a good match. Both Noin and his wife were believers in the ideals of total pacifism, and the family was closely related to the Grand Dukes of Tuscany. Noin himself was the Duca of Florence while his wife had passed on the title of Contessa of Livorno to her daughter when the child had been born. Add to that the fact that the girl's maternal grandmother was a minor Sanc noble, and it couldn't have been a smarter match.

However, there was still that matter of the children themselves. Stephan knew that children could be most unpredictable. Hopefully, enough time spent together would form some sort of bond between the two if they didn't take to each other right away. Milliardo was a stubborn child, and while he wasn't anti-social exactly, he had very few friends among the children his age and no close friends what so ever.

The king watched as his wife and Donnatella Noin led the children into the garden. They were a contrast in looks. The two children shared pale skin, but that was all. Like his father, Milliardo showed his Northern heritage in fine, platinum blond locks and icy eyes. Most of the time his hair was an unruly mop, but for today's meeting it had been neatly combed. The little contessa, on the other hand, was a dark little beauty. Shoulder length raven hair was pulled back from her face with barrettes, and the girl's eyes were an unusual shade of dark violet.

"May I present his Royal Highness Crown Prince Milliardo Emrys Stephan Zechs Peacecraft of the Sanc Kingdom?" Katrina Peacecraft made the introduction. "Prince Milliardo, this is Contessa Lucrezia Alessa Fiammetta Illeana Noin of Livorno."

The two children warily sized each other up. Lucrezia tipped her head to the side. "Zechs?"

His son considered her. "Noin."

He held out his hand to her. "Did you know there's a fairy that lives in the lilac bushes?"

Her fingers curled around his and a smile kissed her lips. "Really?"

Stephan watched as the two disappeared into the garden and turned to his friend. "Well, Leopold, I think we've done it."

The dark haired man laughed. "Oh, my friend, but think of the trouble we had just set ourselves up for. If you though your son's antics were a hassle, just think what potential for trouble they have together."

That was not something that had occurred to him before. Milliardo was very prone to causing mischief without a willing partner. Stephan grimaced. He might just have unleashed a monster upon the staff.

"Now what is that frown about?"

Katrina and Donnatella had climbed the steps to join them on the veranda that overlooked the garden. The two children could still be clearly seen from here, though they probably couldn't see the adults watching them.

"Leopold just reminded me that we have two set two four year olds loose on the staff without any warning."

Donnatella laughed. "Have you ever considered the mischief was due to the lack of a playmate? They'll be fine. I think their first meeting went extremely well."

The sound of laughter rang out from the garden, and all four adults smiled. It wasn't a bad beginning.


	2. In the Shade

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. This is set before Relena's birth. Both Zechs and Noin are about four years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

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**In the Shade**

Noin was his favorite person in the world. Milliardo even liked her better than idea of having a brother or a sister. Of course, he probably wasn't supposed to know about that just yet. He had overheard his mother and Noin's mother talking about it one night when he was supposed to be asleep already. Noin was special. She never treated him like anything other than just himself. He also liked that she always called him Zechs. Milliardo was such a stuffy name.

And Zechs didn't want her to leave. However, summer was almost over, and Noin had to go back to Italy once it was. He'd get to see her again, but that wouldn't be until Christmas time. But he didn't want to think about that right now. Zechs heard a noise coming down the garden path and quickly ducked back into the huge lilac bush where they were hiding. Both he and Noin were currently trying very hard not to be found by their nurses. There was some big dinner and party they were supposed to go to, and neither of the children wanted to go. Formal dinners meant having to wear uncomfortable clothes, and it was summer. The stupid things were going to be too hot and itchy.

Besides, the garden was a much more pleasant place to be than the nursery anyway. It was much cooler to start with. Noin let out a soft sigh beside him.

"They're still looking for us?"

Zechs nodded. "I think we'll have to wait a little longer before the coast is clear."

Silence fell between them again, but it wasn't uncomfortable. That was another thing about Noin that made her special. She didn't have to talk all the time. She was just as comfortable in silence as she was in conversation. The girl scooted a little closer to him and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Do you know what the party is about?"

He shook his head. Noin sighed again.

"No one tells us anything," she complained.

It was true, and it annoyed him. It wasn't like they were stupid or something. Both he and Noin were going to be five next year. They already had lessons they had to take and could both read a little. It was really frustrating to always being paraded with out any explanation. To be fair, neither his parents nor Noin's seemed to do that, but most of the time it was a nanny or valet who was taking them places. Pagan was the best of them, but since he was the head of Zechs' servants, he rarely was actually involved in the day to day matters.

There were footsteps outside their hiding place, and both of the children froze. A hand pulled back some of the foliage, and Pagan peered into the bush.

"Come out you two. Enough with the hide and seek."

They shared a look but complied. They soon found themselves herded in to the nursery and put under the care of several nannies who insisted on baths for both of them. After that Zechs found himself being stuffed in his formal suit and being sent in the playroom under orders to stay there. Noin appeared a few minutes later wearing a dress that matched her eyes and a scowl on her face. She made a face at him.

"It's not fair that you don't have to wear these stupid bows in your hair."

As Zechs counted at least four bows, he couldn't quite blame her for her annoyance. Noin did not like things in her hair for the most part.

"At least you don't have to wear a tie." His felt like it was strangling him.

They looked at each other and burst into giggles. The door opened to admit Pagan.

"All right, your highness, Contessa, it's time to go."

Noin linked her hand with his, and together they headed out to face yet another boring court event.


	3. Merry Yuletide

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. This is set before Relena's birth. Both Zechs and Noin are about five years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Merry Yuletide**

Zechs pressed his nose against the window, watching the white landscape outside for any sign of movement. Noin was supposed to arrive within an hour or so. Her family was coming for Christmas, and he couldn't wait to see her again. It seemed like forever since that summer when they had last seen each other. It was too long in his mind. Noin was the only person his age who was any fun to spend time with. And she was going to stay all the way through New Year's this time.

He couldn't wait. Zechs had even already picked out Noin's Christmas present. Well, his mother had helped some. He had finally chosen a silver locket for Noin. It had pretty filigree pattern and a single amethyst that matched her eyes. Zechs hoped she would like it. Finally, he caught sight of a car making its way to the palace entrance. The boy practically flew out of the nursery. By the time he reached the main entrance, Zechs could spot a little figure bundled up in a thick coat just inside the door.

"Noin!"

Her head shot up, and she dashed across the room to hug him.

"Zechs." Noin beamed at him, struggling to get out of her coat.

Noin's mother made her way over to the pair of them.

"Well, I can see what important to you two." She helped Noin with her coat. "Back to the nursery for the pair of you. Dinner won't be for another hour or so, and we have to get the cars unpacked."

Now that Noin was with him, Zechs wasn't going to complain about being packed off to the nursery once again. This was going to be the best Christmas ever. They had so many things to do. They were going to pick out a Christmas tree in a few days, and there was sledding and ice skating and snowball fights, and there would be plenty of things to do. Zechs was looking forward to it.

The two of them were quite happily engaged in a game when they were interrupted for dinner. It was a formal court dinner, but at least they wouldn't have to suffer through it alone. Besides, they two of them had gotten quite good at finding ways to entertain themselves at these things. Even if it did get them in trouble some times. It wasn't their fault that some courtiers didn't appreciate flying peas.

The snow covered winter wonderland provided the two children with an enormous playground. The next few days were filled with quite a bit of winter fun as well as the hunt for the perfect Christmas tree. Zechs found that Noin had very exacting standards for what she wanted in a Christmas tree. They had already been to several Christmas tree farms without finding the right tree. Of course, given that each trip included hot apple cider and cookies, Zechs didn't mind too much. They were going to find it eventually even if they did have to search every single forest in the kingdom.

It took them nearly a week to find the tree, but they finally did. It was nearly ten feet tall and extremely bushy. It was a great tree. They had gone up to a tree farm by the mountains to find it. That had been fun. They had taken a horse drawn sled out to the tree farm. Now they were heading home. The two children were bundled up in the back of the sled as they flew across the ground. Only Noin's mother had come with them. With his baby brother or sister due in April, his mother wasn't up for many outings any more. Her health hadn't been the best lately.

However, his mother seemed to be in good spirits for the holidays, and she had been more than willing to help them make ornament and cranberry and popcorn strings for the tree. The hunt for the tree might have taken a long time, but only took them an afternoon to get it decorated. Of course, it wasn't just him and Noin decorating the tree. In fact, that event had been turned into another party, but at least it wasn't one of those boring formal ones. When the tree was finally decorated, it looked magnificent. Noin really had picked out the right tree.

The two of them camped out by the tree that night. It had taken some pleading, but their mother's had eventually given in. The tree lights made interesting patterns on the ceiling.

"It's not as pretty as the stars, but it's nice."

Zechs laughed. To Noin, nothing was as pretty as the stars. "I like it."

She snuggled deeper into their nest of blankets and yawned. "Night, Zechs."

The next few days passed in a whirlwind of events, and Christmas Eve arrived much more quickly than Zechs had expected. He had trouble staying awake through the late night service at church, but at least it meant that it wouldn't be too much longer before they could open presents. Neither he nor Noin were sleepy when the time came for them to go to bed. Instead, the two children spent the wee hours of the morning giggling together and making plans. The clock finally read six o'clock, and he and Noin went their separate ways to wake their respective parents.

Once everyone had gathered around the tree, he and Noin were finally allowed to open their gifts. They started with their stockings, and soon the floor around the two children was piled with sweets and all sorts of little toys and knickknacks. There were ribbons for Noin's hair and a pocket knife for Zechs as well as several little games and puzzles for them both. Once the stockings were empty, they moved onto the pile of gifts beneath the tree. Torn paper covered the floor as books and toys were revealed. Zechs received a chess set from his parents while Noin got a porcelain doll from hers. They both received an assortment of identical gifts that didn't make any sense. At least, they didn't until Noin stumbled upon the swords.

Zechs looked up at his father with wide eyes. His father just smiled.

"We figured both you and Lucrezia are old enough to start fencing lessons. You two now have all the equipment you'll need."

It was the best present he had ever gotten. At least, that was until Zechs found Noin's Christmas gift to him. He tore away the wrapping to reveal a silver picture frame. The frame had been engraved with the words: _6x9: Friends Until the Stars Stop Shining_. It held a picture from that summer when they met. Zechs looked up from his gift to find Noin clutching the locket to her chest with a delight smile. Their eyes met, and Zechs didn't think either of them had a happier Christmas.


	4. The Sneeze in the Cathedral

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. This is set before Relena's birth. Both Zechs and Noin are about five years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

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**The Sneeze in the Cathedral**

Katrina Peacecraft watched with a smile as her future daughter-in-law made faces at her son while his nanny fussed over his suit. The little Italian girl was perched on a window seat, looking adorable in a white dress embroidered with violets. The sunlight was streaming in the window behind her, creating almost a halo effect with her raven hair. The only thing that marred the scene was the silly faces she was making.

Neither of the children practically liked getting dressed up, but as this morning was Relena's christening, they didn't have a choice in the matter. They would be at the cathedral in their formal clothes whether they liked it or not. To prevent a battle over the formal clothes, though, the children had been told they could have a slumber party out in the garden if they would behave the next morning. The bribe had worked quite well. Both her son and Lucrezia loved to play in the maze garden more than any other activity save for their fencing lessons.

"There. You're all done, Master Milliardo." The nanny flicked one last hair into place. "You sit right there with your contessa while I help you mother with the little princess."

Katrina burped Relena then handed the baby over to the nanny with a smile. All of the servants had taken to referring to Lucrezia as 'the prince's contessa'. Shortly after Lucrezia's introduction to the Sanc court, a young lord had condescendingly addressed her as 'Miss Noin'. Milliardo had firmly corrected him.

"She's the Contessa of Livorno. You may address her as Contessa Noin, Lady Noin, my lady."

The servants had all been charmed the prince's defense of his little fiancée had referred to her as 'the prince's contessa' ever since. They all were universally fond of the Italian girl which simply proved to Katrina once again that the child had been a good choice. Lucrezia and Milliardo had immediately taken to one another, and Katrina had no concerns about the match they would make in the future. She and Stefan had chosen well when arranging this marriage, and she was looking forward to watching the children grow up together.

"Now, you two will be on your best behavior, I trust." The nanny continued, deftly dressing Relena in her christening gown. "It would be a sin to cause trouble in the house of God."

Katrina shook her head. She didn't think either of the children would cause any trouble today. Both of them had been thrilled at being considered old enough to be part of the ceremony. Relena seemed to have charmed them both. Milliardo adored his baby sister, and Lucrezia was just as enchanted. The queen made a mental note to make sure they got a portrait of the three children together.

Everything went fine up until the middle of ceremony. Milliardo and Lucrezia stood on the chancel with the rest of the family, neither fidgeting nor making any sort of fuss. The cardinal held Relena in his arms. "What name have you chosen for this child?"

"Relena Anchoret Cytheria Irina Peacecraft."

"Relena Anchoret Cytheria Irina Peacecraft, I baptize thee in the name of--"

Lucrezia sneezed. Not a delicate little sneeze, but one that resounded through out the cathedral. The cardinal blinked. Silence descended on the church. The poor little girl looked horrified. Nobody seemed to know what to do either. With great dignity, Milliardo produced a handkerchief and handed it to his contessa. The prince kissed the back of her hand and then spoke to the cardinal. "You may continue, your eminence."

Katrina bit the inside of her mouth to keep from giggling. That was her son all right. He was going to be such a good big brother. And a good husband.


	5. May Queen

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. This is set before Relena's birth. Both Zechs and Noin are six years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

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**May Queen**

Noin giggled as she chased after Zechs. The two children threaded their way through the maze laughing. She didn't care that there wasn't a big party or anything for her birthday. Noin already had what she wanted. Her parents had brought her back to the Sanc Kingdom, so she could celebrate her birthday with Zechs. And the best part of her birthday was the fact that since it was May, everything was green and pretty and all the flowers were in bloom. As the two of them cleared the maze, Noin stopped in her tracks. In the center of the maze garden a picnic was set up. Her parents and Zechs' parents were already there along with baby Relena. Zechs laughed and hugged her.

"Happy Birthday, Noin!"

He led her over to the picnic blanket. There was lunch, a cake, and even presents. Zechs smiled at her.

"Wait just one moment." He produced a wreath made out of lilacs and placed it on her head. "There. Now you're ready."

The cake was set in front of her. It was decorated with lilac blossoms made of icing and the words: Happy Birthday Lucrezia. They sang happy birthday to her, and Noin blew out all the candles on the cake. Being the birthday girl, she got the first piece and was delighted to find that it was lemon. It was her favorite type of cake. She liked even better than chocolate cake. The adults also had cake, but it was herself and Zechs who demolished it. Relena wasn't quite up to eating cake yet, so she had to make do with a bottle.

Once the cake was gone, it was time for presents. Zechs presided over the pile of gifts, choosing which one to hand her next. The first few were from her parents and from his parents. They were pretty things like a new dress and hair ribbons. She also received several books. A pair of amethyst earrings with the news that she can get her ears pierced. Zechs' gift isn't quite as extravagant, but it means more to Noin than any of the others. Somehow he had managed to get her locket and put new pictures in it. One side held a picture of Zechs and herself together at Relena's christening celebrations. The other simply had a picture of Zechs.

With the presents open and the cake eaten, Noin was free to continue playing with Zechs. This was one of the best parties she'd ever had. She didn't have to worry about being perfectly polite all the time or playing with children she hardly knew. No, it was really just Zechs and her, and Noin liked it that way. It wasn't that she didn't have other friends, but Zechs was special. He always seemed to understand her. He didn't make fun of her fear of thunderstorms, and he didn't call her names because she liked fencing better than playing with dolls. He liked her just the way she was.

Zechs laughed, catching her around the waist. "Tag. You're it, Noin."

She could see their parents laughing at them over on the picnic blanket. Zechs kissed her cheek.

"Come on, May Queen, try and catch me."

With a laugh of her own, Noin gave chase.


	6. Bad Reactions

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. This is set before Relena's birth. Both Zechs and Noin are six years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Bad Reactions**

Contessa Lucrezia Alessa Fiammetta Illeana Noin was not coming out of her room, and that was final. That was what she had told the servants, and her parents hadn't yet come to try and get her out. She wasn't going to come out even when they came. In fact, she wasn't ever going to leave her room ever again. It's not like anything mattered anymore. Not after yesterday. Yesterday her best friend in the world had been murdered along with the rest of his family. Noin was furious. She was also sad beyond measure. And no one understood.

No one understood what it meant to lose Zechs. Oh, Noin knew that there were some sort of political ramifications to the whole thing, but that wasn't so important to her. This was Zechs. Zechs her best friend. Zechs who understood her even when her parents didn't. Zechs who went out of his way to make her laugh. They might have only known each other for about two years, but he was her favorite person in the whole world, and now he was gone. It wasn't fair. He had never done anything to hurt anyone. What gave those people the right to go to his own home and kill him? Noin knew that she wasn't supposed to know the full details, but she had snuck downstairs and watched the news broadcast.

Flopping on her bed, Noin ignored the tears that were still falling. She hadn't been able to stop crying since she had heard. She wasn't sure she wanted to run out of tears. The tears weren't so bad. What hurt the most was the hollow pit in her stomach. Her fingers wrapped around the locket Zechs had given her. It wasn't fair. They were only six. Her best friend wasn't supposed to be dead. Noin buried her face in her pillow.

What was she going to do now? She didn't want to face a world without her best friend in it. This wasn't like when her grandmother had died. Nona had been something like eighty years old. She had a good long life, and she had a peaceful death. She hadn't been murdered. She hadn't been a child. The images Noin had seen on the broadcast kept playing in her head. They had never shown Zechs' body, but she had seen the palace on fire. She had seen the bodies of the king and queen. She couldn't imagine them gone. They had almost been like an aunt and uncle to her. And poor Relena. She had barely gotten a chance to leave. Still, their loss didn't hurt as much as losing Zechs did.

Did that make her a bad person? Because one person's death meant so much more to her than anyone else's? Noin didn't know. She didn't think it would make a difference. It would be true whether or not it made her a bad person. Clutching the locket, Noin tried to remember the last time she had seen Zechs. They spent their summers together, but during the rest of the year, they only got to see each other on special occasions. The last time must have been for her birthday.

There was a knock on her door. Noin ignored it. The person knocked again. She ignored it again. The person tried to open the door. However, Noin had locked it earlier. She wasn't taking any chances.

"Lucrezia," it was her mother, "open the door."

"No."

"You have confirmation class at the church in half an hour."

"I'm not going."

"Yes, you are." Her mother sighed. "I know you're upset, but you need to go."

"I'm not coming out."

"Lucrezia Alessa, you will open this door by the time I count to ten or there will be consequences."

Noin did not care about consequences. It didn't matter. Nothing really mattered anymore. Zechs was gone, and she was going to have to live without him. Noin buried her face in her pillow and sobbed.


	7. Frozen Heart

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are six years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Frozen Heart**

Zechs Marquise stared out his window, not really seeing the view. He wasn't used to his new identity yet, but that wasn't what had him isolating himself today. No, it was the news from Italy that had made him seek the solitude of his rooms at the Kushranada estate. The morning news reported had contained the information about the latest attack on pacifist supporters of the Sanc Kingdom. This time it had been the Noin family who was targeted. Leopold Noin and his wife, Donnatella, were both dead. With their bodies had also been found the body of a dark haired girl about six years of age. Noin. His Noin.

If it had just been the news broadcast, he wouldn't have believed it. But Treize's contacts had confirmed it just a little over an hour later, and Zechs had been in here ever since. He just couldn't face the world right now. He felt far older than his six years of age. Noin was gone. She would never laugh and tease him again. They would never share secrets again. They wouldn't grow up together and get married. Noin had always been his future, and now she had been taken away from him as well as his family. He didn't have anything left.

Sometimes he felt that it would have been better if Pagan hadn't bothered to save him. Zechs couldn't really see the point in it. He would have to spend the rest of his life hiding who he really was. His family was gone. Only Relena still lived, and he would probably never see her again. And even if he did, she wouldn't know who he was. She probably wouldn't remember him, and she would grow up thinking she was Relena Darlian, not Relena Peacecraft. He knew it was the only way that Relena was going to have a life, but it still hurt. Relena would have a loving family to take care of her. Zechs wouldn't. The Kushranada's had taken him in and provided him with a place to live, but that was simply because they felt they owed his family a debt of honor.

It wasn't fair, but Zechs had already learned that life wasn't fair. If it was, he wouldn't be in this position. He'd still have his family, and he would still have Noin. He really didn't know what to do without her. Noin had very quickly become almost essential to him. She had always seemed to understand him, and half the time he didn't even need to tell her what he was thinking because she already knew. She had never made him feel uncomfortable about being himself like so many of the other children he spent with. Noin liked him because he was who he was, not because of his position or family. She had been the one person he felt like he could tell anything to.

And he didn't even have a picture to remember her by. Pagan had not let him go back to the palace to get any of his things. Zechs literally had nothing of his own right now. It was not a comfortable feeling. He sighed. He did not want to feel like this ever again. He didn't think he could survive losing his world again. And he still didn't know what he was going to do now. There wasn't a future at all left for Milliardo Peacecraft. He didn't know what sort of future there was for Zechs Marquise either.


	8. Lone Wolf

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are thirteen years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

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**Lone Wolf**

Zechs paid very little attention to the gossiping students around him. He really had no use for them. They were hardly a challenge when it came to school work, and Zechs didn't really care about anything else. He wasn't here to make friends. He was here because he needed the skills he would learn here to get into the upper ranks of the Alliance. If he was to be able to play the role Treize wanted, he would need to be an officer, and it was probably the only way he was going to get close enough to the people he needed to in order to get his revenge.

Treize didn't care if he didn't make any friends. In fact, Treize rather approved of that. The older man was convinced that if Zechs let his guard down even a little and got close to someone that his secret would come out. Zechs wasn't so sure about that, but truthfully, he had no interest in getting close to anyone. Not again. Losing friends hurt too much to risk making them. Besides, no one could be as good a friend as Noin had been, and Zechs was not looking to replace her.

He had enough to focus on anyway. Lake Victoria was intense, and if Zechs wanted to get the skills he needed, serious effort was required. It didn't matter that he was already in the top ten percent of his class; there was always something more to learn. And they would actually be getting to start piloting mobile suits next term. He was actually looking forward to that. Zechs liked the physical training the best. He didn't have to think about politics or what the Alliance called 'history'. The only drawback Zechs faced was that his classmates weren't really much of a challenge. It was hard to improve when barely anything challenged you. The instructors tried their best, but really it wasn't the same as competition.

Zechs sighed and rose to his feet. He's been so caught up in his thoughts that he had barely noticed what he was eating. That was probably for the best. Cafeteria food left something to be desired taste wise. There was still most of the lunch period left, and Zechs planned on getting ahead in his schoolwork. There was a quiet table in the back of the library that he often commandeered to work at. No one really bothered him. While it was true that Zechs wasn't interested in making friends, people didn't exactly go out of their way to try and make friends with him either. He wasn't sure if it was his aloof manner, the mask he wore, or his reputation as a lone wolf. He didn't care either.

Settling down with a book on battlefield strategies, Zechs couldn't help but consider that he wasn't going to have much of a life even if he accomplished his goals. That was followed by the thought that he wasn't sure he wanted one. He couldn't imagine a future where he was happy or content.

When the bell rang, Zechs made his way to the classroom. It soon became apparent what the gossip at lunch had been as the instructor gestured a slim youth forward.

"Class, this is Cadet Noin. She's been transferred her due to her excellent scores. Cadet, you can take the seat beside Cadet Marquise."

The dark haired girl silently took the seat next to him.


	9. Fresh Blood

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are thirteen years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Fresh Blood**

Noin was not exactly thrilled to be here, but she wasn't going to let that show. She had enough problems as it was. She went where the Alliance sent her, and she didn't have a say in it. Neither did the rest of the students, so they should get used to her being her. There were only three other girls at Lake Victoria, two of them in her cohort and one in the cohort after hers, and none of them were in any of her classes. So she was the only girl in the advanced classes, and it apparently rankled some of the boys. That was evidenced by their treatment of her. In classes, they pretended she didn't exist. Outside of classes, they did their level best to make her life a living hell.

She had barely been here a week, and Noin had already been the victim of more than a dozen pranks. She did her best to ignore them if possible and avoid future ones, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to avoid them all. Admittedly, Noin had started taking her frustration out during hand to hand combat lessons. She might come away with bruises, but she wasn't the only one. Truthfully, the only time she really felt anything close to being content was during their flight simulations. She couldn't wait to really be able to pilot a mobile suit. There was just something freeing about flight.

Running a hand through her short hair, Noin glanced around the cafeteria for a place to sit that wouldn't get her lunch ruined before she could eat it. Spotting Marquise sitting alone, she made for his table. Noin was ambivalent about Zechs Marquise. On the one hand, he did not participate in harassing her, and he was one of the few students that matched her skill and intelligence wise. On the other hand, he was anti-social to the extreme, and his very name was a reminder of what she had lost. Still, sitting by him would be better than having to guard her food every minute.

He looked up as she sat down across from him, and Noin considered the odd mask he wore. There were plenty of rumors about why he wore, though she didn't give credence to most of them. Besides, she better than most people understood keeping secrets.

"And you're sitting here because?" Marquise drawled. She couldn't tell if he was amused or annoyed.

"Are you going to steal my food, attempt to ruin my food, or otherwise make my lunch unpleasant?" At his headshake, she smiled. "That's why I'm sitting here."

Marquise just shrugged and went back to eating. It was a quiet lunch, but Noin couldn't say that she minded. Once she was done with her food, she headed for the library. It was one of the safer places for her to spend her time. It wasn't completely supervised, but very few people dared to incur the librarian's wrath. Noin picked out several books on tactics and strategy and sat down to do some studying. She looked up when someone sat down at the same table as her. It was Marquise.

"You made an interesting point in class yesterday about logistics and strategy," he said. "I wanted to know what you thought of this week's assigned reading in regards to that."

It wasn't quite an offer of friendship, but it was something. She smiled at him.

"Sure."


	10. Building Bridges

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are thirteen years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Building Bridges**

Zechs Marquise was definitely a mystery. That was one of the few conclusions that Noin had come to about her classmate. The past two weeks had been interesting to say the least. Since that afternoon in the library, they had formed what was almost a study group. She enjoyed discussing and debating her schoolwork with him. Marquise was clearly intelligent, and he often challenged her which was more than she could say of most of her classmates. Getting him to talk about schoolwork was not a problem. Getting him to talk about just about anything else was. And he never offered any personal information.

She didn't press him for it either. If he was going to tell her, he would tell, and if he wasn't, he wasn't. Noin knew how to respect privacy. That was probably the reason Marquise was willing to spend time with her. And she would admit that it was nice to have some sort of companionship. Noin wasn't sure she could describe her relationship with Marquise as a friendship, but it more than she had with any of the other students. The pranks and hazing had not stopped yet. Noin was beginning to doubt that they ever would. It worried her a little. They hadn't been anything more of a nuisance yet, but there was always the possibility that they could escalate to something more dangerous.

At least she could find some respite while she was studying with Marquise. The other students might not like him, but they weren't about to antagonize him either. Apparently someone had tried in his first weeks here. Marquise had walked away from the fight with bruises. The older cadet who had been involved had broken bones. Noin didn't know how Marquise had avoided getting in trouble for that, but perhaps the story was mostly rumor. The other students still didn't harass him or anyone in his immediate vicinity. She wasn't about to hide behind him though. Noin could fight her own battles.

And right now fighting her own battles meant being consistently better in all her classes than her tormenters. Working with Marquise helped her do that. Marquise challenged in a way that none of her other classmates did.

"What has you looking so grim? The readings this week aren't that bad."

Noin looked up from her book. "Just thinking. It's not important."

She couldn't see his face due to the mask, but she would guess he raised an eyebrow.

"You're debating your course of action in regards to the idiots giving you a hard time."

Both of her eyebrows went up at the comment. "How did you know?"

He shrugged. "You don't stress out over the school work or even the combat practices."

She hadn't realized he knew her that well. "It's just gets to be exhausting at times."

"They'll have to get over it eventually." Marquise was firm. "They're never going to be better than you. If they actually put their time and energy into their schoolwork, they might come close, but the truth is you're smarter than they are."

It was a nice compliment, but it didn't exactly make things any easier. Noin sighed and reached for the notebook they were currently using to sketch out their tactics.

"Besides," she could almost swear that there was humor in his voice, "if they have trouble with dealing with the idea of you in command, I can't wait to see what will happen when they meet Major Une. She might not be as smart as you, but she could definitely put them in their place before they realized what was happening."

"Oh?" Noin could help smiling.

"There's a reason that she's Treize's right hand. There was this time with Treize's cousin…"

As he continued with the story, Noin couldn't help forgetting about her current troubles. Marquise might not be a friend yet, but it was close enough for now.


	11. Lost Contessa Found

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are fourteen years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Lost Contessa Found**

There were a number of drawbacks to Lake Victoria Academy. Of course, that would be true of almost any Alliance run school. The main problem was that what the Alliance called history wasn't that accurate to one who had lived through some of the events. And truthfully, people noticed. It was easy to tell who had suffered at there hands by the subtle signs of anger during the lesson. Zechs might be good at hiding his emotions, but some of the others still showed visible signs.

He had come prepared for today. They were covering the so called Easter War with the Sanc Kingdom today. He was ignoring everything that came out of their instructor's mouth. It wouldn't do him any good to lose his temper because of this. He needed to stay under the radar when it came to this particular subject. Zechs passed the class watching the other students. For the most part, they were mindlessly absorbing the work of fiction. Except for Noin. Her hands were clenched around her pencil so tightly were knuckles were white. He could see a trace of blood on her lip; she had been biting it since the teacher had starting talking about the royal family.

Noin was an enigma. She was one of the few girls in their year, and the only other student worthy of his time. She consistently had scores equal to his in everything except for science and languages. She had the edge when it came to physics, math, and engineering while he was stronger when it came to literature and philosophy. And her skills when it came to languages were unbelievable. The dark haired girl also had a respect for privacy that was unusual. They had formed a study group of sorts. And while she pushed him to improve, she also was very much a reminder of what he had lost, if only because of her name. It was the same as his contessa's.

From what he knew, Noin was an orphan. Probably from Germany given her surname. He didn't know her first name. No one here used it. And she was currently furious. He watched as she stalked out of the classroom the moment class was dismissed. Zechs would admit to curiosity being the main reason he was following her. Nothing had ever provoked Noin like this, not even the nasty pranks that had been played on her throughout their first month at the school. And it was an odd thing for her to get worked up about as well. The destruction of the Sanc Kingdom really shouldn't matter to a German orphan.

It wasn't until they had reached the edges of the training grounds that she let loose, her voice rising from a whisper to near shouting. Zechs was fairly certain she was oblivious to his presence. He certainly would have never voiced such thoughts with anyone in earshot.

"—and the treaty. The damn illegal treaty. Signed by whom? Certainly not anyone with legitimate authority. The king and queen were dead. Relena couldn't have signed her own name. She was only two for God's sake! And Zechs would have died before he signed it. He probably did. He was too stubborn to let them win."

And everything fell into place. Her name, her eyes, her hair. They were familiar because he knew them. Her anger made sense. The Alliance had taken not only her family but her future family as well. She was his Noin. Zechs watched her with new eyes, recognizing familiar features in an older face. She was facing away from him, unaware of presence.

"Contessa." It slipped from his mouth unbidden.

She froze, her entire body tense. Zechs lifted the mask from his head, waiting. She turned, eyes widening.

"Your royal highness." It was barely a whisper.

Zechs smiled. It was an old game. They had never stood on ceremony with each other, but at court there conventions to be upheld, hence the formal acknowledgement of their titles. Once that had been observed, any trace of formality between the two of them was typically dropped.

He dropped the mask as Noin threw herself into his arms. She buried her face in his shoulder, and Zechs could feel a damp spot forming. He just held on to her. Here was one thing, one person who he hadn't lost. He still had his contessa. He kissed the top of her head and let her cry.

Eventually, her tears stopped. Zechs had the presence of mind to steer them towards a shady corner where they would be out of sight. He had a feeling that explanations would take awhile. He tugged Noin down to sit next to him, leaning against a tree.

"What happened? Everything I could find reported your death." Noin bit her lip. "I thought I'd lost you."

"I was lucky. Relena had already been sent to safety, but I was still living at the palace. I had gotten in trouble that morning and was hiding in the hedge maze, the one we always pretended was infested with fairies. Pagen was out looking for me when the attack came. He hid us in the old gardener's shed. It wasn't much of a battle, more of a massacre. By the time it was over, we were part of a handful of survivors. Pagen took me to Treize. Apparently, the Kushranadas owed a debt of honor to my family. They took me in. I lived with them until Treize offered me a chance to train in order to overthrow the Alliance." There was very little emotion in his recitation. Zechs didn't want to deal with the emotions that went with those memories today. Not when he had something to be happy about.

Noin squeezed his hand. "And Relena?"

He smiled. "Safely ensconced with the Darlian family. Richard Darlian and his wife, Pagan, myself, and now you are the only people who know that Relena Darlian was born Relena Peacecraft. Treize has his suspicions that she is still alive, but nothing more than that."

He ran a hand through his hair, taking the chance to really look at her. Noin had been six the last time they had been together. It was inevitable that she would have changed, but some things had remained the same. Yes, she was taller and had short hair, but her eyes were the same. A little sadder maybe, but still the same violet that used to sparkle with mischief and excitement.

"What happened to you, Noin? I saw the reports on your family. There was a dark haired little girl found with your parents bodies." He had locked himself in his room for three days after that. He hadn't wanted to accept her loss. He had lost everyone at that point. The hope that her family would survive was all he had had left.

"She was one of the servants' children I think. Not that anyone cared." Her smile was bitter. "I was at confirmation class with the nuns. I hadn't wanted to go. I was so mad. They kept saying how wonderful God was, and all I knew is that God had let my best friend be murdered. After the attack, the sisters took to one of their orphanages. They decided I could stay Lucrezia Noin, but I was to tell everyone I was German born named after an Italian grandmother. It wasn't a problem since I was already fluent in both German and Italian."

Noin sighed, twining her fingers with his own. "After that, I was shuffled around by the church and the Alliance. It was like playing musical chairs. As soon as I got settled into once place, they would send me to another. The Alliance finally paid attention to my test score and sent me here."

Noin leaned her head against his shoulder. "They never gave me a choice in the matter.

"_Il mia povera contessa piccola._" He smiled, resting his head against hers; her hair still smelled like lilacs and lavender just like when they were children. "If they hadn't sent you here, I wouldn't have known you were still alive."  
She smiled at him. "True."

"Lucrezia Alessa Fiammetta Illeana Noin." Her name rolled off his tongue. "What shall I call you now, contessa?"

"I have always been Noin to you, your highness."

He fingered a lock of her hair. "True. You'll always be my Noin."

They sat in silence for awhile, just enjoying each other's company. Zechs knew they were missing classes, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He sighed when a thought occurred to him.

"Zechs?"

"No one can know, Noin."

She frowned at him. "I don't understand."

"No one can know what you were to me, are to me. I can't risk it." He met her eyes. "I can't give them any hint of who I was or weakness to exploit. All I can be in public is your classmate and friend, Noin."

She lifted her chin in a stubborn gesture he remembered all to well. "I can accept that, Zechs, in public. In private, you'd better remember that you're my best friend. I have as much reason to be involved as you do. I'm your partner in this. You're not alone."

He pressed another kiss to the top of her head. She was right. He had her.

* * *

Italian Translation: My poor little Contessa.


	12. Comfort Under the Stars

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are fourteen years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Comfort Under the Stars**

Noin sighed and snuggled a little deeper into Zechs' embrace. The two teens were currently perched on the roof of one of the school buildings. Zechs had his arm around her shoulder as they sat star gazing. This was not an uncommon way for them to spend their nights anymore. Technically, it was against Lake Victoria's rules both for them to be on the roof and for them to be together at this time of night. Neither of them really cared. This was one of the only ways either of them got any sleep after being awoken by nightmares.

They both had nightmares. They had seen too much, lost too much not to. But at least now there was also comfort for them both. Noin had quickly found that Zechs was exactly what she needed to recover from her night terrors, and while he hadn't exactly said as much, his behavior told her that he felt the same way. Her beloved best friend had changed some over the years they had been separated. He held himself back more, hid his feelings more. It wasn't a problem for her exactly. Once Noin had realized that Zechs Marquise was her Zechs, it hadn't taken her long to realize that she could read him almost as well as she had when they had been younger.

It was a good thing too. Their actions towards one another were constrained in public. Zechs didn't want to risk anyone finding out about their connection or how much they meant to one another. To the rest of the world, Lucrezia Noin and Zechs Marquise were simply classmates and acquaintances. They had never met before their time at Lake Victoria, and they didn't mean much to one another. Their association was prompted by the fact that they were the two best students in the school. No one knew that they had been friends and companions since early childhood or that they both been members of the nobility. No one knew that they had both lost their families to the Alliance, and no one knew that they were technically engaged to be married.

And it would stay that way. Neither of them were foolish enough to give the Alliance anymore control over their lives than it already had. Zechs had told her about Treize's plans, and she had agreed to assist in them. He had also told her that Treize had no idea just who she was. He wanted to keep it that way. Treize might be their ally right now, but Zechs wasn't about to give him the knowledge of the one person other than Relena that he cared deeply about. The fact that Treize knew that Relena was still alive worried Zechs. He always had been the essence of the overprotective big brother, but especially now that her life would be in danger if anyone discovered that she was in truth Relena Peacecraft, he worried more than ever.

Zechs pressed a kiss to her temple and held her tighter. Most people here would be surprised by how affectionate he could be. It was a side of him that no besides herself ever really saw. Noin didn't mind. It was just one more piece of him that she had to herself. Truthfully, Zechs was all she needed to get through this whole mess. She hoped that she was enough to do the same for him. They were pretty much on their own. All they had was each other anymore. Yes, they had a few key allies, but allies weren't the same as friends and family. Noin sighed and shook her head, trying to clear it of her rather gloomy thoughts. She wasn't going to worry right now. No, right now she had the stars and her best friend at her side. That was enough to make her content for the moment.


	13. Assuat

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are fourteen years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Assuat**

It was the most impressive sight at Lake Victoria Academy. When Cadets Marquise and Noin fenced, everyone watched. It wasn't just their form, which was exquisite, but the fact that the two somehow moved perfectly in tune with each other. It wasn't a mechanical perfection; it was fluid and organic, changing and evolving even as the fencers themselves did. And it wasn't as if they were playing with each other, prolonging the bout. No, the two of them simply knew each other well enough to counteract most moves easily.

They were almost one being. The two students were nearly indistinguishable from each other. Noin and Marquise were about the same height, and while Noin was a young woman, she had yet to fill out enough to really differentiate her from the other boys. The flow of their bouts was smooth and uninterrupted.

Attack. Parry. Riposte. Lunge. Recover. The kiss of steel against steel. It was almost like poetry. Their instructor smiled. It always pleased him to watch these two. No matter what a waste of time most of the students were at fencing, at least he had these two who really enjoyed and exemplified the sport. Noin and Marquise were the best fencers at the school, and it showed.


	14. His White Queen

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are fifteen years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**His White Queen**

Zechs frowned at the board, concentrating on his opponent's move. He leaned back against his bed. There were only a few moves open at this point. Well, only a few good moves. On the other side of the chess board, Noin sprawled across the floor, his pillow tucked under her arms. She worried her bottom lip with her teeth as she moved her bishop to capture his castle. That left his queen vulnerable.

Her mind was one of the things he most admired. Noin was brilliant. There was no denying that. Even here among the elite officers in training, there were few who could keep a pace of her academically, and other than himself, they were all older students. Even in her weakest subjects, she surpassed most of their classmates. But there was more than just her grasp of the academics to admire. Noin worked with people with an ease he envied. When they had group projects, she was invariably chosen as leader because she knew how to get the team to work together.

He moved his queen to a more secure position. There was more to her than his mind. Zechs would admit to he had been paying much more attention to his best friend's form lately. Over the past few months Noin had started to fill out, and added to her already fair face, other students were beginning to notice as well. It was her eyes that caught the most attention. Their soft violet was unusual enough, but when combined with her fair skin and raven locks, they were arresting.

Zechs would admit some jealously about the recent attention. She was his after all, both by the contract signed by their parents and by her own choice. At least, he knew he had been her first kiss. Part of him couldn't blame the others for taking an interest in her. Beautiful and intelligent, Noin also had a caring heart. She was the one their classmates turned to when they were homesick or had some other matter of the heart that they needed advice on.

She really was something special. Despite everything she had been through, Noin was so without anger and hate. Oh, he knew that things made her angry, but she didn't hold onto it. He wasn't sure what drove her, her affection for him or her love of space, but whatever it was, it seemed much purer than his own quest for vengeance. And in some ways, it gave him hope. If Noin could go through all that he had without becoming consumed with hatred and anger, maybe one day when things had changed he would be able to let go of his anger and hate as well.

Noin was everything to him in ways that Relena was not. Relena was his duty and his responsibility. As much as he loved her, he also knew that he would never really be a part of her life. Not after what he would have to do to give her a real future. Relena would never be truly safe in an Alliance controlled world. But Noin was his future as much as she was his past. Zechs knew that she would be better off without him, but he honestly didn't think she would allow herself to be left behind. Her loyalty wasn't really to the Sanc Kingdom or the ideals of total pacifism but to him. He had tried to keep some distance between them when he had found her their first year at Victoria.

It hadn't worked. In part, it was because she wouldn't let him keep himself aloof from her. She had down everything in her power to make herself a part of his life. And he had let her. The truth of the matter was he didn't want to let her slip away. He had never met anyone who knew him so well. She was addictive. He enjoyed the fact that they worked together seamlessly. He enjoyed her company above all others. Zechs couldn't imagine doing without her.

"Checkmate," her voice came.

He looked up to see a soft smile.

"Where was your mind? That was far too easy."

He plucked her queen from the board, rolling the white wood in his fingers. "Just thinking."


	15. Follow Him

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are fifteen years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Follow Him**

Noin had to admit that when it came to Zechs Marquise she wasn't perhaps the most sensible person. In all honestly, it probably would be safer for her to distance herself from him. If the news ever came out that Milliardo Peacecraft was still alive, both he and anyone closely associated with him would be in the line of fire. She was quite sure that Zechs had thought of this. That would explain why he had tried to distance himself from her.

She hadn't let him. Noin was not about to let her best friend go. It wouldn't be good for either of them. She knew that there was no one who understood her better than Zechs, and quite truthfully, he needed someone who knew who he was to support him. If he kept everything bottled up inside, it was going to destroy him. Zechs needed someone to lean on, and it was going to be her. He had always been her best friend, and Noin saw no reason to change that now.

So, she hadn't let him push her away. Noin had steadfastly made herself a presence in Zechs' life whether it be by being his study partner or his companion on the late nights when the nightmares wouldn't let him sleep. And sometime over the years, she'd fallen in love with him. It was ironic really. They had technically been engaged for eleven years now, and she had only just realized that she was in love with him. Of course, when she was little, Noin had never worried about if she loved Zechs or not. She had just taken it for granted that they would eventually marry. Now though, things were much more uncertain.

In part that was due to the fact that Noin didn't actually know how Zechs felt about her. She knew he cared for her but to what extent was unclear. Reading Zechs was second nature for her anymore, but there were still things that he could hide from her if he tried. And he wasn't letting the depth of his feelings for her slip. It was both good and frustrating. Part of Noin wasn't sure if they really could risk being more than friends right now. They had enough on their plates. Of course, that didn't mean Noin didn't want to know how he felt about her. Knowing that they could start something in the future would be nice.

Since she didn't know his feelings on the subject, Noin kept hers to herself for the most part. She had become a little more physically demonstrative with Zechs, but only in private. Noin remained his confidant. She was who he went to when he was angry or sad. She was the one who sat up with him when he had nightmares that left him afraid to go back to sleep. She was his sounding board for ideas and plans. And he did the same for her. Some of it showed to others. When they were partnered in classes, not only was their work of superior quality compared to their classmates, but it also was typically the first completed work turned in. Not to mention their results when paired for combat exercises. If they were on the same team, they were always the winners. If they were on opposites, more often than not things came to a stalemate or one of them won by a slender margin.

Despite the fact that Noin didn't know Zechs' feelings on the matter, she would continue to follow him and to love him. He needed her, and she needed him. That was really all that mattered in her mind.


	16. Basic Anatomy

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are sixteen years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Basic Anatomy**

They were supposed to be studying for the biology final coming up. The truth of the matter was neither Zechs nor Noin were paying to much attention to their textbooks. Noin was perched bed while he sat on the floor. They had spent the past hour drilling for the tactics class, and they were currently loosing the battle to stay focused on school work.

Zechs had long since discarded the mask. He leaned against the foot of the bed, eyes closed in exhaustion. Noin played with his hair, constructing braids of various sizes. He didn't care as long as they were gone when he left the room. He rather liked the feeling of her fingers in his hair. With a sigh, she let go of his hair, her hands falling to his shoulders. He sat up a little straighter as she started kneading his shoulders.

"God, Zechs. What have you been doing? You're back's in knots."

He shrugged. "It's finals week. What do you expect?"

Her hands continued to move across his shoulders. "I expect you to take care of yourself. We can't have our next great commander collapsing on the battle field due to high blood pressure."

That was his Noin all right. Always worrying about him. Zechs sighed and closed his eyes, letting his mind wander. And as it had been frequently in the past few months, it decided to wander to the subject of Noin.

Raven hair framing a pale face with dark violet eyes. A slender frame that belied its strength. Delicate hands that were deft at everything from repairing mobile suits to sewing stitches in first aid. And her mind. Noin was the only one among their classmates who could keep up with him academically. In the fields of linguistics and engineering she even surpassed him. She had a keen grasp of knowledge, but what was most amazing to him was her ability to read him. Whenever they were partnered for anything, he rarely needed to voice his plans or ideas. Noin was always right where he needed her, ready with whatever he needed without ever being asked. And she seemed to know exactly what he needed to hear, even when he didn't know it himself.

It was hard to believe how much was wrapped up in her. She was his childhood friend and his fiancée due to a contract signed by their parents. She was his companion and confidant, the only one here at Lake Victoria who knew who he really was. Actually, she was only one besides Treize who knew who he really was. And she knew his plans. Knew them and offered her support. She offered him a shoulder to lean on, an ear when he needed someone to listen, and simply a presence when he needed not to be alone.

"Zechs? Hey, anybody in there?" Noin's voice called him back to the present.

He tilted his head back to look at her. "Come're, I want to try something."

The bed creaked as Noin moved to sit beside him on the floor. She tilted her head to the side, clearly an inquiry of what was going on, and Zechs found himself considering his best friend's face. Or actually, he found himself considering her lips. Unconsciously, he brushed her bangs out of those violet eyes, his hand winding its way into her hair. He pressed his lips softly against hers. He could feel her intake of breath before she returned the pressure.

It was a little awkward though definitely enjoyable. Zechs pulled away to find a pair of shining eyes and a gentle smile.

Noin tucked a strand of hair behind his ear before trailing her hand down his cheek. "Where did that come from?"

He shrugged. "I was thinking about you."

She blushed, a dark rose brushing across her cheeks. He couldn't help stealing another kiss.

"We're supposed to be studying," came a gentle if halfhearted reminder.

He smiled. "Isn't anatomy on one of the exams?"

Then he kissed her again.


	17. Progression

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are sixteen years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Progression**

Noin was fairly certain that no one had noticed the changes in her relationship with Zechs besides herself. Well, and Zechs, but other than that, everyone else was still in the dark. That was fine with her. People noticing might scare Zechs off since he was so paranoid about protecting her from being used a pawn against him. Besides, she had a feeling that they both would need some time to adjust their friendship to this new romantic turn. They had grown up knowing that they would marry one another, but marrying someone and falling in love with someone were different matters. It just wasn't that simple.

Not that it was bad either. Noin liked kissing Zechs. And besides the kissing, most things hadn't changed. Well, she was a little more aware of Zechs than before, but their habits and how they treated one another hadn't changed. They were still one another's sole confidant and companion. This new turned hadn't stopped them from being able to work well together or made them awkward with one another. At least, not most of the time. They were both teenagers after all, and hormones were inevitable. However, they had both agreed that this was neither the time nor place to be exploring anything more.

But it was distracting at times. Noin found herself more easily falling into ideal daydreams and concentrating on schoolwork with Zechs sitting beside her. She wasn't sure if Zechs had the same problems. He didn't seem to, and she never asked. But there were times when Noin would catch him looking at her, and she was sure that he was blushing.


	18. Fidelity

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are sixteen years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Fidelity**

Noin was a number of things people didn't expect: a linguistic genius, a talented engineer, and an amazing fencer to name just a few. Most of the time the only one who wasn't surprised by her actions and abilities was Zechs Marquise. Except for this moment right now where he had a lap full of her slender body, her arms twined around his neck, and her mouth warm and soft against his own. Zechs really wasn't capable of being aware of anything other than her.

She drew away slightly, turning her head so her hair blocked his vision.

"Oh, Instructor Stott, I didn't see you there."

He still couldn't see, but Zechs was willing to bet that was a good thing. If he couldn't see Instructor Stott, then the instructor couldn't see him. And given that his mask was currently lying on the floor across the room, that was a very good thing. No one other than Noin and Treize knew that he had survived the battle that had destroyed the Sanc Kingdom, and he meant to keep it that way. Stott might not recognize him right away as he didn't look much like the little boy from the royal family's formal portraits anymore, but there was always the chance that if he saw Zechs' face, he might put two and two together at a later point.

"Cadet Noin, what do you think you are doing?"

"Cadet Marquise is helping me study anatomy."

Her tone was perfectly serious. Zechs was glad he couldn't see her face either, or he might have lost his composure. They were supposed to be studying advanced tactics, and since they were in the middle of a heat wave, he had ditched the mask after half an hour. Zechs probably should have known better, but he'd been too uncomfortable to really care. After all, they supposedly had the library study room to themselves for the next three hours.

"I'm, um, sorry, cadet. I thought the room was empty." The man was clearly flustered. "I'll go see if there's another study room available."

The door snicked shut, and Noin let out a sigh. She shifted slightly, and suddenly his field of vision was filled with something other than raven hair.

"That was an interesting diversion from my identity."

Noin flushed a dark rose and tried to move out of his lap. "I couldn't risk him figuring it out, and it was the only thing that came to mind. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--"

Zechs cut her off with a kiss, and his arms tightened around her. "I didn't say I was complaining."


	19. Future Plans

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are seventeen years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Future Plans**

Noin sprawled across her bed, resting her head on Zechs' lap. Technically, they were supposed to be working on a project for their strategy and tactics class. However, the two of them had the assignment done last week, and they were enjoying the opportunity for some free time. Zechs was running his fingers through her hair. It suddenly struck Noin that they were almost officially adults. They both would be turning eighteen in the next year.

Adulthood had some interesting implications for the two of them. Or at least it used to. Noin wasn't sure if thing had changed.

"Do you want to get married?"

Zechs' hand stilled in her hair, and Noin could practically feel his confusion. She rolled over onto her back, so she could see his face.

"I know that we don't have to get married like the contract originally specified, but I wanted to know if you wanted to get married anyway," she explained softly. "We'll be eighteen soon, so we could arrange to do that if you wanted."

Zechs gave her a look that was rather hard to read. Noin interpreted it as part relief, part confusion, and part longing.

"You actually are still willing to marry me?" He sounded a little incredulous.

Noin sighed. There were times when she got really annoyed with the way Zechs saw himself. Of course, the isolation that Treize had rather insisted on didn't help that. She reached up to touch his cheek.

"I've loved you since I was a little girl, Zechs. And I'm quite aware of what we both face in the future."

He kissed her palm. "I know how you feel. I just don't want you to have any regrets."

"I won't. I don't need an answer now, by the way." Noin smiled up at him. "We have some time before we need to do anything or make plans. I just wanted to put it out there."

"All right." He smiled at her suddenly. "You do know that what ever we decided about this, I do care about you, right?"

Noin smiled. It was one of the few things in her life that she was certain of.


	20. Graduation

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are eighteen years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Graduation**

Zechs couldn't believe he'd come so far. Within the hour he would be a newly commissioned officer in the Alliance, and that much closer to his goals. He would be leaving Lake Victoria after this. Both he and Noin would be, though Noin was likely to be back soon. Zechs was well aware that she had been tapped to become an instructor once she had some field experience. Not that Zechs blamed the top brass for that decision. Noin had a talent for teaching and inspiring others, and quite truthfully, he was happier that she would be kept away from the most dangerous combat. He wanted her safe. And apparently, the Alliance did too. Soldiers were easy to replace. Good teachers were not.

But neither of them would have to worry about combat any time soon. Once the graduation ceremony was over, both he and Noin had nearly a month of leave before they were supposed to report to their new positions. And they had plans for that month. It might very well be their last chance for a vacation of any sort before Treize's whole revolution started, and neither of them was willing to let the opportunity pass them by. No, their tickets were already bought, and within hours of this ceremony ending, they would both be on their way to Italy for a wedding and a vacation.

The wedding would be theirs. It was something the two of them had discussed over the past two years. According to the contract that their parents had created, he and Noin were supposed to marry by her twenty-first birthday. However, quite truthfully, they were no longer bound by that contract. Still, it was something that they both felt they wanted and needed to do, and now that they both were eighteen, they could marry without involving more than a handful of people. In some ways, it was a security blanket for them both, something for them to hold onto and look forward to the future for.

Beside him, Noin flashed him a smile. She looked quite impressive in her dress uniform, and Zechs could tell that she was bored with all the speeches going on. Her hand reached out and squeezed his, and Zechs couldn't help squeezing back. No matter what he faced in the future, Noin was bound and determined to be there for him and support him. Zechs didn't know how he had ended up lucky enough to have Noin in his life, and he knew that the future held hardship and separation for them both. But today was theirs to celebrate, and Zechs would worry about the future later.


	21. Some Hearts

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are eighteen years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Some Hearts**

Zechs stood, his hand entwined with Noin's, in front of the priest of Saint Elmo's Chapel. Sunlight streamed through the high windows, and he didn't think she had ever looked so beautiful. Dressed in a simple, sleeveless white dress, Noin practically glowed.

"Do you take Lucrezia Alessa Fiammetta Illeana Noin as your lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?"

They had been planning this trip for nearly a month, ever since Noin's eighteenth birthday. They had been discussing it since his. The contract their parents had signed specified that they be married by their twenty-first birthdays. However, given Treize's plans for the next few years, neither he nor Noin had wanted to wait that long, and now that they both were eighteen, they needed no parental or guardian consent.

"I do."

Noin beamed at him.

So here the two of them were in a chapel in Livorno, Noin's mother's home town. The priest here at St. Elmo's had been Donnatella Noin's family priest for years and could be trusted implicitly. He would hold onto all the records from their marriage certificate and license to the legal name change forms making them officially Zechs and Noin Marquise to the newly created wills they both had written. Every single legal document they could think of was now in his hands.

"Do you take Milliardo Emrys Stephan Zechs Peacecraft as your lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?"

It had been Noin who brought the subject of the marriage up. Given the circumstances they found themselves in, no one would fault them for not honoring the contract. In fact, he had never brought the subject up himself because while he was quite willing to honor the agreement, he wasn't willing to force her to do so. However, Noin had made it very clear she wanted to marry him for her own reasons, and he wasn't about to deny her.

"I do." Her eyes were shining.

So they had planned this carefully, arranging for two weeks of leave and taking off for a vacation in Italy. It seemed appropriate to be married in Noin's home country, and their connections there would make things easier.

"I take this ring as a sign of my love and faithfulness." He slid the cool metal onto her slender finger. It would remain there for the rest of their vacation before being relegated to her dog tags until this whole mess with the Alliance was over.

This was probably their last chance to have time alone together before the overthrow of the Alliance began. Treize was moving into position, and that would mean separation. Noin most likely would be tapped teach at Lake Victoria, training the next generation for Treize's plans, while he would have to start taking an active lead on the front lines. Zechs wasn't looking forward to their separation, but they both knew it was inevitable.

"I take this ring as a sign of my love and faithfulness." Noin repeated his gesture before sliding her hands back into his.

He worried about the future. Noin kept him human. The idea of facing months or even years without her calming presence was unappealing. But he had no choice really. For the two of them to have a future that wasn't lived in the fear that someone would discover their past, they had to destroy the Alliance, and Treize's plan was their best bet.

"By the power vested in me by the Holy Catholic Church, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Zechs leaned down and kissed his wife for the first time. There in the sunlight, with her hands entwined with his and her lips warm and soft under his own, Zechs knew that no matter what happened in the future, he would always have her love.


	22. You and Me

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are eighteen years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**You and Me**

Noin let out a sigh as she lay back on the bed. It was a very comfortable bed. Much nicer than the ones at Lake Victoria. And bigger too. Of course, she was technically on her honeymoon, so a big, comfortable bed was rather mandatory. She and Zechs had rented a room at a bed and breakfast in Tuscany for the next two weeks. They had arrived in town two days ago, only a day after they had been married in Livorno. Their first day here they really hadn't left their room much.

Which was just fine with Noin. She had been very happy with her wedding night. It had been a little awkward at times given that neither herself nor Zechs had much experience, but the two of them had managed to work things out together. It had been an enjoyable experience for them both. In fact, this entire vacation was proving to be quite enjoyable. Zechs had ditched his mask in favor of a ponytail and dark shades. Truthfully, the two of them looked very much like your typically tourists, and with the fact that they had the excuse of their honeymoon to hand out to anyone, no one was going to look twice at them.

It was rather freeing. Noin knew that they weren't about to abandon all they had worked for, but it was nice to just be themselves without everything else looming over them all the time. Zechs flopped down on the bed beside her.

"So, we've spent the morning wandering around town and had lunch at that little place you spotted the other day. What's next?"

She smiled at him and then wrinkled her nose. "How about a shower?"

"Are you saying I smell?"

"Did I say anything?"

"You did suggest a shower."

Noin smirked at him and rolled on to her stomach. "I did. There's that nice big shower in the bathroom with plenty of room for two."

"Oh." Zechs was grinning now. "I see."

"Do you now?"

"I think you." He climbed off the bed and held out a hand to her.

Noin let him pull her up off the bed and pulled her light sweater off, heading for the bathroom. Zechs was right behind her adding to the trail of clothes. He shut the bathroom door behind them blocking out the rest of the world. Moments later he joined her under the warm spray of water, and Noin smiled and let the water wash away the rest of the world.


	23. Summer's End

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are eighteen years old. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Summer's End**

Noin let out a soft sigh. Their vacation was almost over. Tomorrow afternoon she and Zechs would be heading back to the real world and their new assignments. Neither of them actually knew there first duty assignments yet, but it really wasn't something Noin wanted to think about right now. She gently touched the wedding ring she'd been wearing for the last few weeks. Tomorrow she would put on her dogtags, and there it would stay for who knows how long. She didn't really want to take it off.

Of course, that wasn't the only thing that would change tomorrow. Tomorrow, Zechs would go back to wearing that stupid mask. It might protect him, but Noin rather hated the thing. It isolated him far too much in her mind. Treize might think that was a good thing, but she wasn't so sure. Zechs needed human contact, and if she wasn't there with him, who would provide that? He couldn't be a soldier and commander all the time, and that really was in part what the mask forced him to do. Noin sighed again.

She had no control over their assignments. In fact, she would have even less control than normal this time around. Yesterday, Noin had some how managed to turn her ankle while they were out hiking and was now stuck with a sprain. It was more than a little annoying. It would take six to eight weeks to heal, and she would be out of the field until it did. The injury was just another reason that she wasn't looking forward to the end of this vacation.

Zechs sat down on the bed beside her and ran his fingers through her hair. "The painkillers kicked in yet?"

Noin nodded. "Yes. Ignore me. I'm just having the end of vacation blues."

He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "You're entitled. I'm not really relishing the end of it either."

He twined their fingers together, squeezing her hand gently. Noin squeezed back.

"I'm going to miss having you around, _il mio contessa_. It won't be the same working without you."

"I know." She smiled at him. "I'll miss you too."

The two of them sat together in silence, comfortable in each other's presence. It was nice to just be with one another at times. Noin liked to remember the times they shared like this. Soon enough all she would have was memories to keep her company.


	24. Anticipation

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 4. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Anticipation**

Noin would admit to being rather distracted by the news that Zechs would be coming to Lake Victoria. It wasn't very professional of her, but Noin figured she was allowed. If it had been common knowledge that she was going to see her husband for the first time in a year and twenty days, her distraction would have been understood and accepted. However, since there were only about three people in the world, including herself, who knew that she was married to Zechs, Noin did her best to keep her distraction from showing.

Still, she was looking forward to his visit. On the one hand, she knew exactly what this meant and what was coming, but on the other, she had missed Zechs. And while she wasn't looking forward to the battles ahead, she was looking forward to being at his side again. First and foremost, Zechs was her best friend. He had always been the one person she was most comfortable with. She worried about him when she wasn't there beside him. Someone had to make sure that he ate, slept, and didn't take himself too seriously. Very few people ever saw beyond his masks, both his actual one and the ones he wore to hide his emotions. Zechs might prefer to keep to himself, but even he needed someone to vent to every once in a while.

She knew what some people thought of her. Most people seemed to think that she suffered from a crush and hero worship when it came to Zechs. Noin had never bothered to correct them. She knew all of Zechs faults and flaws. She still loved him. But she also knew that the fact very few people thought he genuinely cared for her afforded her some protection. Zechs didn't need to have the worry of someone using her against him added to his other concerns. Not that it would be easy. Noin hadn't taken second place in rankings to Zechs for no reason. But it was a headache that neither of them needed.

So Noin would focus on the fact that she was going to see Zechs again and soon. Whatever else happened, she would take things from there.


	25. Going Home

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 4. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Going Home**

Zechs Marquise knew that all of the people on this transport would be rather surprised to find out that he was looking forward to arriving at Lake Victoria. Of course, most of them didn't credit him with having much in the way of emotions. In truth, it wasn't really the place that he was looking forward to seeing. It was Noin. They hadn't seen one another since their vacation over a year ago now. Well, one year and twenty-two days. Trust Noin to keep track of exactly how many days it had been. She had always done that, even when they were little. Zechs accepted it as one of her endearing quirks.

He had missed her more than he could really express. Then again, he had never been very good at expressing his feelings. But Noin was all the home he had anymore, and he was glad to be going home. It would be nice to have a chance to just be himself, even if only for a few minutes. With Noin he didn't have to be on guard all the time. And he did miss working with her. While some of his subordinates were very good at what they did, Zechs didn't share the same sense of partnership with them that he did with Noin. But then his relationship with Noin was unique in a lot of ways.

No one else he knew would flirt with him and tease in public like she did. The fact that he didn't seem to respond much to her comments didn't deter her either. She never got flustered for the most part with him either like so many officers did. Well, there were a few occasions, but those really had nothing to do with work. Then again, their personal life together had gotten both of them flustered more than once. And balancing an extremely discreet personal life with a professional life was something of a challenge. To tell the truth, they had mostly done it by not having a personal life most of the time.

And even if all he really got was a few minutes alone with Noin, it would be worth it. As much as he hated to need or depend on anything, Zechs knew that Noin was a touchstone for him. In so many ways, she was all he really had. No mattered what else happened, he at least had her. And that was enough for him.


	26. Fond Memories

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 4. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Fond Memories**

Noin fought the urge to giggle. She really was having far too much fun. She blamed her current euphoric mood on Zechs and on military protocol. It wasn't like she could just wrap him in a hug when she first saw him. It was proving rather harder than she thought to keep up a professional façade. Part of that was the fact that actually getting some time in private with Zechs was not going to happen anytime soon. Even when they were technically alone here in the student's lounge area, they were both on duty and could be interrupted at any time.

Still despite that and her oddly silly mood, Noin was really quite happy. Zechs' presence filled an ache she'd put up with for the past year. She was most comfortable when she was with him. Noin wasn't entirely sure why that was. If she wanted to be sappy and sentimental, she'd say it was because they completed one another. Or it could simply be that they had spent most of their formative years together. Being around Zechs had been the normal state of Noin's life until the Alliance had killed both their families.

The phone rang interrupting them. As Zechs spoke to Otto, Noin found herself absently tapping out the beat to a favorite childhood song. As much as she knew that what would be coming in the days ahead would not be pleasant, she was happy to be with Zechs again. She felt stronger and more confident with him at her side, and that was not a bad thing considering what they faced. Besides, look at all they had accomplished together so far. Noin was fairly sure they could take on just about anything together if they had to.


	27. Keeping Her Close

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 4. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Keeping Her Close**

The moment they were alone Zechs was pulled her all the way into his arms and held her tight. He doesn't think that Noin realizes just how badly she had scared him. He knew she was good at what she did, but even he had trouble with the gundams. And he couldn't lose her. Not Noin. He had lost just about everything else, but Noin had been the one constant, and he couldn't lose her. The fact that her hand was in his, and he could feel her pulse against his fingers was one of the things keeping him calm right now.

Noin might be joking with him right now, but Zechs knew that it masked her hurt. She had lost people tonight. They might not necessarily have been close to her, but she had felt responsible for them, and they had died. She had always been more sensitive about these sorts of things than he was. In some ways, Zechs envied her for that despite the fact that it caused her pain. He had the feeling that Noin was far more human than he was at this point. The only people he really cared about were Noin and Relena.

Her steady heartbeat calmed him. She was safe. She was here with him. And he was going to keep her with him. It was selfish on his part. If she was here by his side, then he could keep an eye on her and protect her. It wasn't that he didn't think she could take care of herself, but Zechs knew he was paranoid when it came to her safety, and with the gundams around, things weren't as secure as they once were. Besides, he knew Noin. She wanted in on this fight, and trying to keep her out of it would be pointless. She was stubborn, and she wanted in on this. She would find some way of getting into trouble if he didn't just give in and let her.

Zechs smiled at that thought. He loved her, stubbornness and all. He honestly didn't know what he'd do without her. So he would keep her close and do his best to protect her from what she couldn't deal with on her own.


	28. Conflicted Interests

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 9. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Conflicted Interests**

If Noin was truthful, and she figured she should be truthful if only with herself, she would admit that she had extremely mixed feelings about working with Zechs. He was a good commander, and she liked working with him. However, it wasn't like working with him when they had been in school. They had next to no privacy anymore, and that meant what time Noin spent with Zechs was spent with his commander persona. Quite honestly, there really was nothing wrong with that persona, she knew of commanders with worse, but when she knew the other sides of Zechs as well, it was very easy for his commander persona to rub her the wrong way.

Noin also would admit she didn't quite know how to treat him in his commander persona. She seemed to fluctuate between her normal manner with him in public and the way she typically acted with other commanders. Zechs didn't seem to mind, but Noin had caught odd looks from some of the other soldiers. Still, she was glad she was here with him. Someone clearly had to look after the man since almost everyone else seemed to think him invincible. And Noin wasn't sure if this notion of piloting Tallgeese was a good one or not. But Zechs saw it as a part of freeing the Sanc Kingdom, and as soon as she heard that, Noin had known she wouldn't be able to talk him out of it, whatever the dangers might be.

So she would just have to stay close by and be what support that she could for him. Noin knew that this upcoming battle would not be simple or easy, even if the physical fight turned out that way. And she couldn't, wouldn't let Zechs face that alone.


	29. On the Line

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 9. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**On the Line**

He might present a fairly calm face to the troops, but Zechs' adrenaline was definitely pumping. This was a battle that far more to him than anyone here except Noin knew. He was a little leery of bringing her into this fight, but he knew she wouldn't sit it out, and she was a good enough pilot that she would stay in one piece. Zechs adjusted the controls a little; he was still adjusting to Tallgeese. Still, what really mattered was winning this battle. Then his home would finally be free.

Noin's voice over the speakers was calm as she gave orders. His lady might not have spent that much time out in the field over the past year, but she knew how to command. It left him free to focus on Tallgeese. The machine was not like anything he had ever piloted before, and it took more out of him than he had expected. And there were his own fears and nervousness. He couldn't fail in this battle, but he wasn't sure he could succeed.

His enemies had some surprises for them. And Zechs knew that getting his troops slaughtered was not the way to win this. Still, he wasn't quite ready to give up yet. Tallgeese should be able to deal with the situation. But even as he moved forward, Zechs found his fears and doubts rising as well as his frustration with himself. He almost didn't notice the pain amongst everything else, but something was wrong, and he knew it.


	30. On the Edge

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 9. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**On the Edge**

Noin didn't exactly know which part of her was really in control right now, and she knew it reflected in her speech. But she hated it when Zechs was hurt, and the idiot man had scared her nearly to death. So she was leaning towards being his friend and lover right now more than his subordinate. And if that meant bullying him into taking care of himself, she would do it. Noin knew that with freedom for the Sanc Kingdom, so close convincing Zechs to rest and take care of himself was not going to be an easy task. Even if he wasn't in any condition to go back into battle.

It bothered her the way he talked about himself. Zechs was no coward even if he thought he was. It was both instinct and common sense to avoid situations that were going to get you killed. Noin had no doubt that Zechs would die for some things, but winning this battle was not it. There would be other ways to win this battle. Now, if it was his sister's life on the line, Noin had no doubts that Zechs would put everything on the line in order to protect her. The problem was Zechs tended to judge himself by standards that weren't always humanly possible.

Unfortunately, Noin hadn't been able to pound that through his skull though. But he wouldn't be piloting Tallgeese again until he was well even if Noin had to tie him to the bed. The fact that he had suffered a heart attack was not something to sneezing at, and she loved him to much to let him do anything as stupid as getting back in that mobile suit any time soon. Thankfully, the doctors were on her side. There was no way that he was going to be okayed to fly for at least another day. Noin was just going have to convince Zechs that there wasn't anything he could do about that.


	31. Eye of the Storm

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set after the end of Episode 9. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Eye of the Storm**

Noin quietly slipped into the darkened room. The battle to free the Sanc Kingdom was over. Now she just had to deal with the aftermath. Between Otto and the rest of the demons in Zechs' past, it was going to be a long night. Locking the door behind her, she scanned the room for its other occupant. They were short on rooms for the troops, and she had told the billeting officer she would take care of herself. If worst came to worst, she'd sleep in her mobile suit.

"Zechs?"

She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and made her way over to where he sat on the cot.

"What are you doing here, Noin?"

She knelt beside him. "I wanted to see how you were doing. And to see if I could bunk with you. We're short on beds apparently."

"You should go. You'd be better off that way."

Biting back a sigh, she lifted his mask away. As much as she admired, respected, and supported Treize's ideals and plans, she felt that he'd failed Zechs. He'd convinced her friend that the way for him to survive was to let no one close enough to her him, and once again, it looked like Treize's ideas about keeping distance from others were back in full force. Zechs was pushing her away again, probably in order to protect her. It wasn't going to work. She had managed to get past his walls before, and she wasn't going to let him shut her out again. Distancing himself to protect her was very noble, but it would do neither of them good, and Noin wasn't completely sure it would work either.

"Zechs. What's wrong?"

He looked at his hands. "I'm a traitor. I've betrayed everything my family stood for. I can't even call myself a Peacecraft anymore. My hands are too stained with blood for that. I don't even deserve to be alive."

"Do I deserve to live?"

That startled him into meeting her eyes. Noin moved so she was kneeling in front of him. Taking his hands in her own, she gently pressed a kiss to the palm of each.

"These hands are the same as mine. My parents believed the same things yours did. I have betrayed their ideals just as much. I too have killed."

"But it's different for you." It burst from his lips. "You don't--"

"How is it different?"

"You only kill when you have to. When you're ordered to. I planned this. I knew what I was getting into. I knew I would have to kill, and I went through with it anyway."

"I knew what I was getting into when I joined OZ, Zechs. I knew I would have to kill. I joined anyway. Did you enjoy it? Did you desire to kill them? Was it easy to do? Would you have done it if you didn't have to?"

"No," the answer came slowly. "I didn't want to kill anyone. And I don't enjoy it. It makes me feel…dirty, unclean. But I have to, if I don't--"

"I know. Neither of us have any sort of future if things don't change. We'd live our lives in fear that someone had discovered the past. And it's not just the two of us that we're protecting by doing this. Relena is safe for now, but how much longer? How long until someone somehow discovers who she really is?" Her hands came up to cup his face. "You're human, Zechs. You're not blameless, but then no one is. You have regrets. But we're alive in part because of the decisions you made. Your father might be disappointed in some of the choices you've made, but I think he would rather you be alive than dead because of his ideals."

Zechs met her eyes, searching for something. She wasn't sure what he was looking for, but his arms went around her shoulders, pulling her against his chest.

"_Ti amo, il mio cuore._" The whisper of her native Italian caught her by surprise. "_Lei me dà spera._"

His arms tightened and then let go, pulling away as if in pain. Noin frowned. "Your injuries? When was the last time you took a pain killer?"

"Just before Otto took Tallgeese."

Noin sighed, rising to her feet. "You're overdue for another dose then. I don't understand you sometimes, Zechs. You have a brilliant strategic mind and yet can never remember to take care of yourself when it matters. Where have you put the pills the doctor gave you?"

"They should be underneath the maps for the harbor, I think," he sounded almost amused. "You do realize that there's a reason your students refer to you as 'Mother'."

She glared at him. "Would you like a time out?"

Retrieving the orange bottle, she shook out two pills. Thankfully, Zechs had been given a suite with amenities due to his rank, so a glass of water wasn't hard to come by. She handed the pills to Zechs and held out the glass of water.

"You are going to take those, and then you are going to sleep. The doctor said you needed plenty of rest for a speedy recovery."

"I still have things to do."

Exasperated, Noin found herself glaring at him, hands on her hips. "That is why you have subordinates. The paperwork is being taken care. Treize has yet to assign you a new mission, so there are no battle plans to work on. So what pray tell is more important than taking care of yourself?"

He actually laughed. "I would say getting you into bed with me, but I'm afraid you'd just hurt me."

Later, curled up in the shared bed, she lay awake, listening to Zechs breath. They had survived so far with hearts and minds mostly intact, but the battles were far from over. He had let the past go today enough to laugh and tease her, if only for a little while and only to ease her fear and worry for him, but it could and mostly would come back to haunt him. There was still so much more to come. She had stayed by his side this far, but there were no guarantees. Next week she could be reassigned or injured. She could even be killed. This was a war. That wasn't what she feared. Noin feared loosing Zechs to his demons more than anything else. As long as she was with him, she did not fear him weathering that storm.

The arm around her waist tightened, and she sighed. She could not predict the future any more than Zechs could change the past. All she could do was provide what support she could in future and enjoy the brief respite she had for now._

* * *

Italian Translation: I love you, my heart. You give me hope._


	32. Allies and Enemies

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 10. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Allies and Enemies**

Zechs quite honestly had mixed feelings when it came to Treize, though he had no such problems when it came to Une. He trusted her as about as far as he could throw her when it came to most things. She was unquestionably absolutely loyal to Treize. Unfortunately, that tended to blind her to some things. And Zechs knew that she saw him as a threat to her position with Treize. He wasn't one, but he really had no way of assuring her of that. If Zechs had been Treize, he would have made it clear to the woman where he stood with her. Knowing that made a world of difference: just look at Noin.

In many ways, Noin was Une's parallel. She was Zechs' aide and companion in the same way that Une was Treize's. Some of the differences between the two women probably came from there personalities, but Zechs had the feeling that Noin knowing exactly where she stood with him also effected things. Noin knew what her place in Zechs' life and heart was, and consequently, she was far more relaxed with him. She didn't worry about impressing him or pleasing him the way that Lady Une seemed to with Treize, and Noin wasn't afraid to disagree with him. She also wasn't jealous of Zechs' relationships with others. Not that he had that many, but still.

Une had clearly decided that Noin now constituted a threat, and Zechs was a little leery about leaving the two of them alone. Noin could take care of herself, but Une did outrank her, and his lady was more tenderhearted than she allowed to show. If Une brought up the death of her students, Noin might not let her hurt show, but she would be hurt. But Zechs really couldn't call her back without Treize finding out that Noin was well aware of everything in Zechs' past. That was something they both had kept from Treize. The man was an ally, and Zechs trusted him to an extent, but Noin's connection to him was a secret that Zechs liked to keep between the two of them. Things were safer that way.

Treize being Treize pushed the issue of his birthright. Zechs did his best to deflect that and not to react at the use of his old name. Truth be told, he had always preferred the use of his middle name, Zechs, (which Noin had turned into his nickname at their first meeting) over his first name. And what he told Treize was true. He wasn't comfortable with Peacecraft name, and he wasn't sure he deserved it. And he wasn't quite ready to leave OZ yet. There were still things that needed to be dealt with. Besides, he did want a rematch with that gundam pilot, and this would be the best place to get that.


	33. Holding Down the Fort

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 10. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Holding Down the Fort**

Noin wanted to kick Zechs in the shin. It might not change anything, but it would make her feel better. There were times when she wanted to strangle the man's overprotective streak out of him. Despite the comment he had made about needing reliable information, Noin was fairly certain Zechs wanted her out of this battle, so she would be safe. Well, she might be safe staying at the command center, but she would also spend the entire time worrying about him since she couldn't watch his back. And given that she would be under Colonel Une's command, Noin wasn't entirely sure that she would come out of this without losing her temper.

The younger woman wasn't entirely sure what Une's problem was with her. Whatever it was, it didn't make working together easy. It probably didn't help that Noin would much rather be in the field than stuck at the command center. Noin really didn't like the idea of Zechs being out their on his own. Well, he wasn't completely on his on as there were other troops with him, but there was no one out there that Noin would trust to watch his back. She knew that in part Zechs saw the opportunity to face the gundams again as a challenge. And Zechs never backed down from a challenge.

If there hadn't been for the fact that his life might be at stake and there were other things going on, Noin would have been more than happy to let Zechs and the gundam pilot have their rematch and get it out of both their systems. However, it wasn't like they could call a halt to the current conflict in order for the boys to play best warrior. Normally Zechs' determination and drive were things that Noin admired but not when they had the potential to get him killed.

But more than anything else, Noin hated being left behind. She had spent a number of years thinking Zechs was dead, and learning that he was actually alive had been one of the best things to have happened to her. And she would admit that she was a little paranoid about losing him again. And one of her greatest fears was having to watch him die while helpless to do anything about it. But orders were orders, and she couldn't refuse them this time. Not when they came from both Une and Zechs. Noin would just have to wait it out and hope that nothing went wrong.


	34. Tables Turned

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 10. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Tables Turned**

Lucrezia Noin could not believe her ears. Had Une completely lost her mind? Though clearly Noin wasn't the only one who was shock at this latest turn of events. This was a turn of events that no one had really anticipated. And one that Noin couldn't accept without trying to change it. It was a dirty, underhanded move, and while she knew that war was not pleasant, this particular ploy didn't fit with the ideals OZ was trying to promote. She also doubted that Treize had approved it.

Unfortunately for her, neither she nor Zechs seemed to be able to reach the woman. Noin's cheek stung from the blow, but that wasn't what bothered her. There had to be something she could do to stop this madness. Using innocent lives in order to secure a victory was neither right nor would it help OZ when it came to the public opinion. But Une was really too far gone to listen to just about anyone.

Except maybe Treize. Whatever else Une might be, she was absolutely loyal to Treize. Noin ignored the scenes playing out in front of her in order to set a line of communication to the leader of OZ. But when the transmission from Doctor J started and the young pilot of Gundam Zero One made his move, Noin couldn't tear her eyes away from the almost horrifying images in front of her. What brought her back to was Treize's voice in her ear. Noin smiled grimly. Time to put an end to this before things got any worse than they already were.


	35. Potential for More

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 11. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Potential For More**

It was both frustrating and troubling that his fight with Zero One had been interrupted the way it was. Troubling, because that was not the sort of tactics that Zechs was comfortable with or that he thought Treize would approve. While it might have been an isolated incident of Une acting on her own initiative, it was still rather worrisome. But it wasn't his responsibility to deal with that.

It was frustrating because Zechs really wanted to finish that fight. The boy who had piloted the gundam was truly a worthy opponent, and the fight was a true challenge. A fight like that Zechs could focus on. Ever since freeing the Sanc Kingdom, Zechs had been at something of a loss. His driving force for most of his life had been fulfilled. He really wasn't sure what was next. He couldn't go home. He wasn't worthy of being a Peacecraft any more. But what did that leave him?

Zechs wasn't entirely sure he wanted to remain with OZ. Une's tactics weren't the first that had made him uncomfortable, and he had seen enough bloodshed. But he was a soldier, and he didn't know if he could be anything else. And he didn't know if his skills as a soldier would be needed again. Zechs would also admit that he didn't know quite what he would do as a civilian either.

But even though Zero One was now destroyed, there was still a chance that the pilot was alive, and that gave Zechs an opportunity for a rematch. Of course, he'd need to figure something out about replacing or rebuilding the gundam, but that wouldn't be too hard. He was sure he could figure something out.


	36. Things That Don't Change

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 11. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Things That Don't Change**

Noin shook her head and let out an exasperated sigh. Men. They never seemed to change. Especially hers. Zechs had once again gotten into a one track mind set. While part of her could understand why Zechs was so set on a rematch with the gundam pilot, Noin was also well aware of the potential for trouble this had. Besides, it wasn't like they didn't have enough going on right now. She had no doubt that they were both going to get into trouble over this, but she also knew just how hard it was to talk Zechs out of something when he set his mind to it.

So she was just going to have to go along with this and hope it didn't land them in too much trouble. It was hard to tell at times just what Zechs could get away with. Noin sighed again. Things had started to move faster than she liked. They knew that Relena's foster father had been killed. What they didn't know was just how much Relena knew about things. But Relena could potentially be in danger, and Noin knew that she herself couldn't be in two places at once. Zechs was likely to send her to deal with any problems in regards to Relena.

It made sense. Zechs had always been extremely carefully not to let any smidgen of information out that might link him to Relena, and Noin knew that she was one of the very few people he would trust with his sister. However, Noin herself was also rather torn. As much as she was pleased that Zechs would trust her with Relena and knew that protecting Relena was important, Noin also didn't like to leave Zechs on his own. She worried about him, especially now that the Sanc Kingdom was free. Zechs had lost his purpose, even if he hadn't realized it yet. And Noin knew it was only a matter of time before that began to really affect him.

But all she could do for now was her best to support him. Noin just hoped it would be enough.


	37. Little Sisters

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set right after Episode 11. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Little Sisters**

All in all, it was probably a good thing that Zechs had sent her to take care of Relena rather than come himself. As much as Noin loved the man, she wasn't entirely sure that he could handle a teenage girl. Relena might be his beloved baby sister, but she was also a fifteen year old girl. And one who hadn't been raised in the military. Zechs had very little experience in dealing with civilian women. Most of it consisted of avoiding them at formal events. He also was not used to dealing with children, and Noin could tell that Relena was going to be a handful.

Some of it was understandable. Relena had not only lost a beloved parent, but she had also been confronted with the fact that what she knew about herself wasn't true. That was quite a bit to deal with. It was clear for her actions tonight that Relena was dealing with quite a bit of anger and grief and didn't really have someplace to turn. Hopefully, Noin could provide some support and also keep the girl from rushing into something that was going to get her killed.

Of course, there were some limitations to what Noin could do, and she had to remember that while she might remember Relena, Relena didn't remember her. And Relena didn't remember her brother. At least, if she did, she didn't know who he was, and Noin wasn't about to touch that issue unless she absolutely had to. That was Zechs' issue to deal with. But it did make things a little more difficult. Like explaining her and Zechs' interest in Relena and keeping Relena safe. Noin doubted that the girl would just accept that fact. No, she would want to why, and that would be a little harder to explain. Noin wasn't about to just say 'Well, Zechs is your brother, and I'm your sister-in-law, and of course, we want to keep you safe.'

Noin had always wanted a little sister, but they were turning out to be more work than she expected.


	38. Weighed, Measured, and Found Lacking

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 12. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Weighed, Measured, and Found Lacking**

Zechs was not pleased at all. He just kept coming up against his own limitations as a pilot, and there were far more limitations than he liked. Especially compared to the skills of that gundam pilot. Oh, Zechs knew that there probably wasn't another pilot in OZ that was capable of handling Tallgeese, but that didn't necessarily mean that he himself was worth of Tallgeese.

In some ways Zechs wished that Noin was here to offer another perspective on the whole situation, though in others he was glad she wasn't around. Noin had a very different outlook on things than he did in many ways, and he sometimes found her belief that he did the best that he could and that sometimes the circumstances were such where he could not control the outcome hard to take. He would privately admit that it was easier to consider himself a failure than to deal with the fact that he could not control everything within his sphere of influence.

He would never admit that to her though. Noin was fully aware of his faults, and she loved him anyway. Her love was probably the one thing in the world that Zechs knew he could always count on, and there was some comfort in knowing that he would always be enough in her eyes, if not his own. But that didn't change the fact that he currently wasn't satisfied with his performance, and that he would need to improve if he hoped to beat that gundam pilot in a fight.


	39. Hidden Sympathy

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set right after Episode 13. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Hidden Sympathy**

Zechs knew his words sounded harsh. He didn't care. He had a reputation to keep, and it wasn't as if those would be the only words Noin heard on the subject. The documents he had given the man for her did contain his official report which, among other things, was rather harsh, but then it was the truth of what had happened. But those documents also contained a personal letter of sympathy for Noin. For while what had happened with Alex and Mueller was not truly her fault, Zechs knew that Noin would blame herself.

They were her students after all, and Noin would feel that she had taught them better than what they had sunk to. However, the compassion and understanding that was simply a part of Noin's character was not something she could teach other necessarily. Zechs knew that she tried, but it was something out of her control. And she had taught those two men how to fight and how to kill, though she hadn't been their only teacher. Without respect for either the lives that were involved or the proper rules of combat, it was easy for someone to slip into the type of madness Alex and Mueller had. Zechs knew there had been times when he was close to perpetrating that sort of slaughter.

It had been Noin and Relena who had kept him in check at those times. Zechs didn't know enough about Alex and Mueller to know if they had anyone to remind them of their humanity. But even so, what they had done was unconscionable, and it would break Noin's heart. And so he hoped the words that he offered in his private note for her would offset the harshness of the official report and the reality of the situation. Zechs didn't know if Noin could have somehow changed things, either with her presence or if she had taught them something different, but he could offer her his support and a shoulder to lean on. After all, there had been plenty of times she had done the same for him when he had needed it. The least he could do was return the favor.


	40. Babysitting Duties

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 14. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Babysitting Duties**

As fond as Noin was of Relena (both in her memories of the child she had been and faced with the young woman she was becoming), she would admit that the girl could be something of a headache. Oh, she sympathized with Relena in a number of ways, but the teen seemed determined to charge headlong into situations that might get her killed. Relena seemed to have no clue just how valuable her life was and was determined to risk it at every possible chance. Her attempt to kill Une proved that. What on Earth had the girl been thinking?

However, those traits also reminded Noin of Zechs. He wasn't perhaps as reckless as his sister, but that sheer determination channeled into action was something they both shared. And truthfully, Relena could have been more of a spoiled little rich girl than she was. Maybe her maturity wasn't a match for Noin's at the same age, but Relena had been far sheltered than Noin had been. Noin did like and respect the young woman, though she would personally rather have Zechs dealing with the mess rather than herself.

That was mostly because she felt Zechs was cheating himself out of getting to know his sister. She did understand the practical reasons why he was keeping his distance from Relena, but Noin also suspected that once again Zechs had convinced himself that his hands were too blood stained to have anything to do with his beloved baby sister. Which was ridiculous in Noin's mind. If she had been with Zechs at the moment, she would have made that clear, though it wasn't a conversation she would risk except in person. No one else needed to know about Zechs' connection to Relena. Unfortunately, she couldn't be in two places at once, and keeping an eye on Relena was full time job. And as much as she wanted to be with Zechs right now, her assignment was Relena, and it was important.


	41. Layers of Conversation

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 14. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Layers of Conversation**

Zechs much preferred to talk to Noin in person for a number of reasons, not just the fact that he preferred her company to just about anyone else's. One of them was the fact that when they were face to face, Noin didn't tend to resort to hidden meanings and code in order to keep the conversation secure. He knew her well enough to understand what she was telling him, but he would much rather skip the concentration it took at times to do that.

It was clear that Noin was just as fond of Relena now as she had been when they were children. Though it seemed that she was finding Relena more of a handful now. Of course, a fifteen year old provided much more potential for chaos than a toddler would. Noin also seemed to think that his sister was great deal like himself. Zechs wasn't so sure about that. He saw quite a number of differences between himself and Relena. Besides, the two of them had a much different upbringing at this point. Relena was still innocent. He was not.

It did strike Zechs as interesting that Relena had formed such a strong connection to the gundam pilot. He wasn't sure that was such a good thing. Especially given the sort of chaos and destruction the gundam pilots could cause. Then again, Zechs wasn't really sure he wanted his little sister anywhere near teenage boys. At least, not until she was something like thirty. Relena shouldn't have to deal with things like broken hearts and hormonal teenage idiots.

Still, the connection had provided him and Noin with a little more information about the gundam pilot. Zechs would have much preferred to discuss all this in detail with Noin, but as she wasn't available for a private meeting at the moment, that would have to wait. But did have a name now, and that was a place to start. It was also nice to know that he wasn't the only one who believed that Heero Yuy was still alive.

Noin's tone turned a combination of teasing and gently scolding as she ended the conversation. Her question about if he was ever going to tell Relena about himself lingered. He honestly wasn't sure what to do about that. And while he knew that Noin thought he should tell his sister, Zechs personally wasn't so sure. But anyway, there were other things to deal with at the moment. He could make that decision later.


	42. A Request Made

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 15. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**A Request Made**

Noin could see why Relena might be attracted to Heero Yuy. The boy was quite cute. It felt a little odd calling him a boy given all the things he had done, but that really was what he was. Age-wise at least, and Noin would also bet that Relena's interest confused him. Of course, being trained as a soldier didn't necessarily mean one understood regular social customs especially when it came to teenage girls. But Heero and Relena's relationship was not why she was currently here.

It hadn't been easy to track down Heero Yuy and his companion, but Noin had finally caught up with them, and she had an invitation to issue. She understood their suspicion of her, but Noin remained quietly confident that they would accept the invitation. Especially when she explained why Zechs was interested in meeting with him. Noin could see echoes of Zechs in Heero Yuy, and that alone assured her that he would accept. Noin wasn't entirely thrilled about the two of them having their duel, but she would do her best to make sure it happened without interference from O.Z.

Now, how best to make their departure without attracting attention?


	43. An Interesting Messenger

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 15. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**An Interesting Messenger**

Lucrezia Noin was not what Heero would have expected as a messenger. Quite frankly, he would have expected Marquise to tender the invitation himself. Then again, it did give Heero a chance to study the O.Z. officer. Or former O.Z. officer. He quite honestly wasn't sure of her current status. Actually, to tell the truth, Heero wasn't sure what to make of the woman at all. According to all the files that he had accessed on her, Lucrezia Noin was nothing too special. She was a good mobile suit pilot and had held a position as an instructor at Lake Victoria, but nothing about her record stuck out.

And yet Marquise clearly trusted her. There was nothing in either of their records to indicate why. They had met at Lake Victoria but had gone separate ways afterwards. Yet when O.Z. began making its move, Noin was Marquise's right hand. Marquise was not the type to trust people lightly. He wouldn't have survived as long as he had in O.Z. if he did. But nothing Heero could find explained the connection to Noin. Still, it really didn't matter at this point.

What mattered was if the offer was genuine and if Heero was willing to take it. They could figure out just what made Noin trustworthy later. Heero had a fight to win.


	44. Fighting Cold

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 15. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Fighting Cold**

Noin hated the colder climates for any number of reasons. She was not at all fond of the cold to start with, and it seemed like the military issue clothing was never quite warm enough. It didn't help that this whole situation had her in a bad mood to start with. Why couldn't something be easy for once? All she wanted to do was get the two gundam pilots to Zechs, so they could have their duel, and Zechs could get out of his system so he could focus on the more important things. Well, the fight was important to him, but quite honestly, Noin wasn't entirely sure it would tell him what he wanted.

But what currently mattered was getting rid of the mobile suits following them. Noin might be good at fighting, but between the facts that they were outnumbered and that the cold was slowing her mobile suit's reactions, Noin didn't know if they were going to win this fight. Trowa had been right. Noin would not do something that would cause problems for Zechs. She wasn't planning on dying today, but if that's what it took, that's what it took. Still, Noin really would prefer not to die in this freezing, forsaken part of the world. She would surrender, but she would not betray Zechs. Not to a toady like this man, and if that meant she would die then so be it. She would go silent and defiant.

In the end, though, it was the other gundam pilot who saved them. Even as grateful for the rescue as she was, Noin felt something in her mourn for the young men who had been turned into weapons. Like she and Zechs had been as well, but there was something else to these young men that also gave her hope. Maybe they could restore Zechs' faith as well.


	45. Delivery Made

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 16. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Delivery Made**

What she wanted to do was to crawl into a warm bed with a mug of hot chocolate. However, Noin was aware she was highly unlikely to get that. She would be lucky if she got some sleep. But she had gotten Heero Yuy here, and they were all set for their fight. She just hoped Zechs knew what he was doing. Noin had not had a chance to speak privately with him since her arrival at the Antarctica base, and that bothered her some. She wanted a better idea of how he was doing, and he was too good at hiding his feelings for her to tell without than a brief public meeting.

Oh, Noin could tell that he was tense and that he was anticipating the fight to come, but other than that she could only guess at how he was. It was times like these when she really hated that they kept their relationship under wraps. As Lieutenant Noin, she had no right to drag Colonel Marquise out of the room and demand answers. Noin Marquise, the man's wife, did. But the fact that she was Noin Marquise was not known to anyone here other than her husband, and she knew the wisdom and value of keeping that to themselves.

Though Zechs' conversation with Heero had been interesting. More and more Noin saw parallels between the two men, and she now worried for them both. She did not know what the outcome of this battle would be. She could only hope for the best. The future she desired would see them both alive and well.


	46. The Night Before

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 16. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**The Night Before**

Zechs did not seek his own bed once he was finished with his duties for the day. Instead, he made his way to the quarters Noin had been assigned. He found her door unlocked, and he slipped inside. It didn't take Zechs long to discard his mask, toe off his boots, and shrug off his jacket before climbing into bed beside Noin. They had taken to sharing the same bed when they were at the same location, even if they both had quarters of their own. Zechs found it comforting, and he had the feeling that Noin did as well. Besides, he got a better night's sleep this way.

He slipped an arm around her, and Noin snuggled into him. He could tell she was still awake, but she didn't say anything. To tell the truth, Zechs was rather glad about that. He knew that she was concerned about him and had her doubts about this battle. But Zechs really didn't want to waste their time together talking about any of that. At some point they would have to discuss where to go next with their plans, but right now all he really wanted to do was spend some time with her without anything interfering.

With a sigh, Zechs pressed a kiss to Noin's cheek and closed his eyes. He didn't know what tomorrow would bring, but he was determined to go through with the fight tomorrow. And he knew that there was the possibility that he wouldn't survive the fight. It was a reality he had accepted. Still, it was one that he would prefer to avoid. His death would only hurt Noin, and she deserved better than that. To tell the truth, Zechs rather thought that she deserved better than him, but she had made her opinion on that rather clear. She didn't want anyone other than him. He knew he was lucky to have her, and at least for tonight, they could enjoy each other's company.


	47. Quiet Early Morning

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 16. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Quiet Early Morning**

Noin woke in a warm embrace that was familiar, even if she hadn't woken up in her husband's arms lately. It was nice, and she quite honestly wished she could stay here all day. Knowing her internal clock, it was probably five o'clock. Neither of them actually had to get up and start getting ready for the day for at least another half hour. So she simply snuggled closer to Zechs.

The arm he had wrapped around her waist tightened, and a soft kiss was pressed to the back of her neck, letting her know that Zechs was also awake. He didn't speak though, and neither did she. If they talked, sooner or later the topic of what currently was going on would come up, and Noin did not want to waste her time alone with Zechs on that. Instead, she rolled over so she could kiss him properly. Noin had no idea what the results of today's battle would be, but she had a half hour of Zechs' undivided attention, and she was not going to waste it.


	48. Family Resembalance

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 16. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Family Resemblance**

Relena and Zechs were clearly related. Noin could tell that just by how much she wanted to strangle the both of them. First of all, Zechs was so stuck in his current mindset that he was going to fight a meaningless battle until he realized it was actually meaningless. Noin didn't have any other way to snap him out of his current state, so she was stuck letting him fight this battle, no matter what her personal feelings on the subject were. And there was his little sister. Noin had no doubt that her attachment to Heero Yuy was what had brought her here.

Her charging into this situation had the potential to both get her hurt and bring down Acht's search team on them. Noin was definitely going to have her hands full keeping everything together. She sighed and once again questioned just why she was doing this. She knew the answer. It was always the same. She loved Zechs, and she loved Relena as well, even if the young woman wasn't at all like the baby and toddler Noin remembered playing with. They both needed her, and while Noin might disagree with them both at times and get entirely exasperated with them, she wouldn't abandon either one of them. But that didn't make them any easier to deal with at times like these. Though at least she could be amused at their family resemblance if nothing else.

"From now on, many people will probably try sucking up to the Romefeller Foundation. Defeating Zechs, who's seen as a Gundam defender would prove one's loyalty to the Foundation. The search party's manhunt could be intense. But Zechs is practically O.Z.'s hero.

Why would they be after him? Is the path Zechs is about to take wrong?"

"Sorry. Didn't mean to eavesdrop. I might have at least a partial answer."

She jumped at the sound of his voice. She really needed to put a bell on that man so he couldn't sneak up on her. He offered her a smile as an apology.

"During my many years with O.Z. I developed an aesthetic sense in war. I thought it's a spirit that fighters could acknowledge in each other, even between enemies. But those Gundam pilots are desperate. They'll battle even if it costs their lives. They live the true lives of soldiers! I'm much too weak!"

Noin kept from rolling her eyes by force of will; weak was not how most people would describe Zechs. "That's because they know they are fighting for the colonies. Zechs, you have someone to protect too!"

He shook his head. "I don't have the right to protect anyone. They'd say that the very thought itself makes me weak. There's no need to bring any pride into battle. If I'm only capable of that kind of battle I'll simply be defeated here by the Gundam. This is war. Some lessons can only be learned by risking one's life."

So much for talking him out of this. He really was just as stubborn as his sister.

"Zechs,-"

"Noin," he cut her off. "This battle will take awhile. I hope we can fight without any interruptions."

She nodded. "Leave it to me. I'll prevent the search party from interfering."

"I'm more concerned about the dignitary of the Peacecrafts. My dear Imperial Guard."

It was his way of saying he wanted both her and Relena safe. His concern for them both warmed her. Noin only hoped that meant he was closer to realizing just what he fought for. She just hoped it wouldn't take him actually dying for him to really realize it.


	49. Standing on the Sidelines

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 16. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Standing on the Sidelines**

Noin did her best not to show how badly affected by the ongoing battle she was. From a purely tactical point of view, it was a spectacular event. From a loved one's point of view, it was horrendous. And that was made worse by the fact that she couldn't let slip just how badly she was scared. There were other things that needed her attention, and Noin couldn't afford her fear at the moment.

"That's a long time for a meaningless battle." Trowa's comment following the report on the length of the battle caught her attention.

"Meaningless?" She glanced over at him. "What do you mean, meaningless?"

"Am I wrong? I don't know the details, but OZ is after you people. What's the point of two sides with a mutual enemy fighting against each other? Think it's the pilots' fate? That's stupid."

Noin sighed. She actually agreed with him on that. But that wouldn't change Zechs' mind. "You might have a point. But they've been out to kill each other until now. So naturally they feel it's some kind of fate. This battle will go on until they realize it is meaningless."

"Are people trying to stop time in order to find themselves? Enemies are necessary. That's the soldier's fate." Trowa sounded rather certain of that.

"No," Noin disagreed. "A soldier is rejuvenated when he finds someone to protect. Sometimes that takes time."

It was currently taking more time than she like, but she was committed to making sure that Zechs had this chance. She was afraid she would lose him if he didn't. Of course, there was always a chance she could lose him to this battle too.

"Right now we've lost sight of how to protect the colonies. We really can't afford to be wasting time here." He turned to go. "I'll prevent any interruptions, so they can get this over."

"You mean the search party?" Noin frowned. "Trowa, how will you fight them?"

"I'll have Heero return my favor."

She watched him go with mixed feelings. At least it was one less thing she needed to worry about right now. Noin just wanted this battle to be over with. She hated the fact that she was stuck watching. It made her feel more than a little helpless. But as she had told Trowa, the battle would go on until the two fighting it realized that it was meaningless. Noin just hoped that it would be soon.


	50. Interruptions

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 16. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Interruptions**

Zechs had given a reunion with his little sister some thought. He had actually decided against it. It wouldn't really serve any point. He didn't belong in his sister's life at this point. His hands were far too stained with blood for him to face her. No, he was perfectly happy to work from afar to make sure she could take back their home and secure a peaceful future.

He hadn't expected her to come charging into the middle of this battle in order to see Heero Yuy, even with Noin's comments about Relena's recklessness and stubbornness. He certainly hadn't expected her to fly straight into the middle of things. Zechs listened as she argued with Yuy. He almost felt sorry for the boy. Determined women were never easy to deal with in this mood. But Relena needed to get out of here if she was going to stay safe.

"Princess!"

She turned her attention to him. "Are you Zechs Marquise?"

His little sister had grown into a beautiful young woman and a daring one given her presence here. "Princess! Please leave at once! I must take revenge for the death of my men!"

It was an excuse, but he really wanted her safely out here. Flying into the middle of this battle had been entirely reckless, and Zechs didn't doubt that Acht's search team wouldn't be far behind. The sooner Relena was out of here the better.

"I hereby order you under the name of Peacecraft family. Stop this battle immediately!"

Zechs smiled. He liked her strength and conviction. It fit her well, and it would also serve her well in the future. Now he just had to make sure that she would never take the bloody path that he had.

"You've become strong, Relena. Fitting for a Peacecraft daughter. Just see for yourself how dirty and foul battles really are!"

Continuing his attack on Yuy, Zechs knew that his actions would most likely turn his sister against him forever, but they were necessary. He needed to make sure that her future was different from his own.

"No. If you're a true warrior and a knight of the Peacecrafts, you couldn't possibly use such foul play!"

He was half afraid that Relena would do something stupid when Noin's voice came across the frequency. Zechs let out a sigh. It was a welcome interruption. She would talk Relena down. Noin had a talent for getting understanding from people.


	51. Connections

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 16. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Connections**

Noin knew that she probably shouldn't be surprised by Relena's recklessness at this point, but she had never expected the girl to actually fly between two fighting mobile suits. That really was not a good place to be right now. She listened in on Relena's conversation with both Heero and Zechs until battle was starting up again. Then she called Relena. That girl needed to get out of there now.

Relena was not exactly pleased to hear from her. "Miss Noin, I misunderstood you. I

thought you were sincere. How can you just sit by and watch this? This is neither a duel nor a match. They're just killing each other!"

Noin sighed. "Precisely. I deserve your contempt, but I can't help it. I believe in Colonel Zechs. I'm not about to interrupt any he plans on doing."

Relena turned away from the screen. "Heero! Defeat that man! Anyone associated with a foul group like O.Z. is an embarrassment to the Sanc Kingdom. Go ahead! Kill him!"

"Stop it, Relena!" Noin was not going to let her make this worse than it already was. Not when Zechs' life was at stake. "Please stop. It's a fact that he's associated with O.Z., and I don't deny that some mistakes were made. I won't explain it away with his love for the Sanc Kingdom."

And then Noin did one of the things she had to have Zechs deal with himself. "But Relena, no matter what destiny awaits you, you mustn't do anything as deplorable as wishing for the death of your own brother."

"Brother?" It was clear that Relena had no clue about that connection. "He's my brother?"

Noin sighed; she had wanted Zechs to deal with this himself for several reasons. This really wasn't her story to tell.

"Since the Peacecraft monarchy fell to the Alliance he's had his heart set on revenge. Given the difficulties of gathering power within the ruined Sanc Kingdom, he chose to join O.Z. to get closer to the Alliance. He waited, donning a disguise he called Zechs Marquise." Noin was sticking with the brief account for the moment. They didn't have time to cover the entire story, and an unsecured channel would not be the best place for that either. "Once OZ brought a new wave of chaos to the world, Zechs must've lost a sense of purpose in his life. Now he can only the soldier in himself when he fights the Gundams. That's what this battle is all about. Heero lives by his own rules, and Zechs is searching for the spirit to battle him on a level playing field, so once again he will be able to embrace the Sanc Kingdom and the Peacecraft name. He's even prepared to lose his life for this. I'll keep believing in him. I want to stay by his side. No matter what he does or searches for."

Noin mentally cursed, aware that her tongue had rather run away with her. Okay, clearly she had let a little too much of her personal issues in this show. Saying all of that where it could be overheard might not have been the best idea. She was willing to share her feelings with Relena on the subject, but it really wasn't the business of any of the other soldiers present. But at least Relena looked more thoughtful now.

"You're fond of my brother, aren't you, Noin?"

She let out a sigh. In for a penny, in for a pound. It was a little more than just fondness. "Yes. I do love him."

"Please watch over my brother forever."

Relena clearly didn't understand just how that worked. Noin was well aware that Zechs was much more likely to send her off with his sister or away someplace he considered safe. He was overprotective like that. But that wasn't a topic for the moment.

Instead, Noin offered, "I don't know if I'm able to. Colonel Zechs can be reckless at times."

That prompted a smile out of Relena. "It must be in the Peacecraft blood."

Alarms sounded before Noin could say anything else, calling her attention away from Relena. Noin straighten. It looked like the search party had reached them. She had better get this dealt with now.


	52. Marching Orders

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 16. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Marching Orders**

Zechs listened to the reports coming in. Things were heating up. In some ways he was rather glad for the reprieve. He understood why Noin had done what she did (he was a little irked at her to tell the truth, but he could understand why she felt it was necessary; even if he didn't really want to.) , but he really wasn't ready to face a Relena who knew that he was her brother. But then, it was looking like that wasn't likely to happen right at this moment.

"Numerous carriers approaching from three o'clock. Probably from the search party."

"How many?" Noin's voice was calm.

"Over thirty, but that's only a portion of their fleet."

"Get all the mobile suits ready. Prepare to attack them," Noin's orders came over the airways crisp and clear.

"Can you hear me, Heero and Zechs?" Trowa's voice came reached him; Zechs hadn't really been aware of the other pilot's return to the battlefield. "There are about thirty suits in flight. A hundred if they unload all Aries suits from the carriers. We should be able to handle thirty each pretty easily."

An idea occurred to Zechs. Noin was probably going to kill him for this.

"No, wait," he told the gundam pilots. "I'll attract them all myself. Glory to all the colonies!"

"No, Zechs!" Heero protested.

Zechs ignored him. He needed to this. "Heero, we'll meet again, to continue our battle!"

But the gundams did make their exit. Zechs continued towards the search party as Noin contacted him.

"Colonel Zechs, our Aries troops are all prepared to go into battle."

She didn't actually say 'you idiot', but Zechs could hear it in her voice. He smiled.

"Then take Relena with you and make your escape," he ordered. Noin wasn't going to like that, but it was what he needed her to do.

"Zechs!"

No, his wife was not happy with him at all.

"Once I know you've gotten away safely, I'll surrender myself," he told her.

Noin glared at him. No, she didn't like this plan at all. "Then I'm going to fight too."

"Noin. Please let me protect the promising leader of the Sanc Kingdom. Allow me to protect her."

"I understand, Colonel." He could hear the sigh in her voice. She didn't like this at all, but she would do it because he had asked her to, and she understood why he needed her to. "Colonel, take care."

What she meant was she loved him. He heard both the frustration and worry in her voice as well as the affection. He couldn't offer her any promises that he would be coming back. But at least he could make sure that both his wife and his sister were safe. He would protect them both.


	53. After Thoughts

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 18. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**After Thoughts**

Zechs was finding it a rather surreal experience being a prisnor of O.Z. In many ways he felt more like an honored guest than a prisoner. Which was useful when he plenty on his mind. Noin had let the cat out of the bag about his true identity. Zechs understood why she had felt it necessary. He knew that she had been trying to protect him, and he understood why she felt the need to do that. But the news was out now, and there was no way to keep it quiet. Eventually, it would be public knowlegde, and that would change the landscape for him.

Right now, the biggest issues was what O.Z. was going to do with him. Given his recent actions a court martial was definitely in the offing. Even if Treize pulled strings for him, Zechs knew that he couldn't complete escape some kind of consequences. Of course, that was assuming that Treize would pull strings for him. Treize would act in a way that was best for his plans, and that wasn't necessarily in Zechs' best interests. Still, it was hard to figure out a next move without knowing exactly what he was up against.

He wasn't surprised when he was summoned to the ships communications room. Time to see what Trieze had in store for him. As Treize laid his plan, Zechs only kept from sighing by sheer force of will. Treize was offering him a way out, and it would be a challenging fight. But Zechs was also realistic about his chances of surviving such a battle. They weren't especially good. It was the way he'd want to go out there, and it was a better option than a court martial. It was also an honest fight rather than having to worry and wait for someone to try and kill him.

His biggest regret about all this was that he knew he wouldn't have a chance to talk with Noin before this battle. Zechs knew that she would get Relena to safety, but he had no way of sending her a message. He didn't know if he would survive this battle that Treize had proposed, and even if he did survive, that didn't necessarily mean that he would be returning to her side. Quite honestly, Zechs wasn't ready to return to the Sanc Kingdom and to Relena. He didn't know what his next move would be even if he survived the upcoming battle.

But Zechs didn't think he could avoid the battle, and part of him was looking forward to it. He would face this fight, and then he'd figure out what came next.


	54. Battle Frenzy

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 18. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**Battle Frenzy**

Zechs had been right that the battle would be a challenge for him. It was definitely pushing him to the limits of what he could do in Tallgeese. It was also clear that Treize was trying to kill him. He severely doubted he was expected to survive this. Zechs was going to try anyway, and if he survived this, he wasn't going to be Treize's ally any longer. Of course, that had been true even if this battle hadn't taken place, and that was why Treize wouldn't mind if he died. Treize had no use for those who he could not manipulate or some how use for his own plans, and Zechs had passed out of that category.

Tallgeese took an especially hard it, and Zechs felt his mask shift and crack. It was fitting in away. He had always told Treize that their friendship could not last forever, and when the mask he wore to hide his true identity, Zechs was fully ready to call their alliance ended. It would mean taking up the mantle of Milliardo Peacecraft again. He didn't feel ready for that, but he was more worried about the battle at hand than the future at this moment. The battle was what needed his focus, and Zechs was willing to give it his all.

When the mask cracked and shattered, he felt both regret and freedom. The mask had defined him to so many people for years now, and it was gone. He was just himself now.


	55. A New Day

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 19. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss.

* * *

**A New Day**

Zechs knew that this was a dream. That was the only way to explain the beach under a starry sky and Noin by his side. He would have liked for this to be reality, but given what he remembered, it wasn't very likely. Still, Zechs couldn't say he minded walking hand in hand with his wife even if it was just a dream. They had so very little time together just for themselves. Eventually, he'd have to wake up, but when consciousness started tugging at him, Zechs found himself reluctant to follow.

He didn't know where he was. That was really his first thought. Someone had removed his jacket, belt, and boots, and there was no sign of his mask what so ever. Zechs could hear the sound of machines and voices outside the room. So he'd survived the fight. trust Treize to send enough suits that the outcome of the fight would be unknown to everyone involved. The question was just who had taken him in. If it was Treize's people, than he was back to square one. If it wasn't, then Zechs didn't exactly know where he stood.

His question was answered when the door opened. The old man who stuck his head in the room was not familiar, and he certainly didn't look like O.Z. personnel.

"You don't look too bad. Can you get up?" The old man continued on. "You were piloting that interesting looking machine. I picked it up, as well. I never would have guessed in a million years that anyone other than those kids could pilot the Tallgeese."

Zechs blinked. "Who are you?"

The man shrugged. "I'm one of the people who was involved in its design, but that was long ago."

"You mean you made the Tallgeese?" Zechs' first thought was he wished Noin was here to help him pick the man's brain about the machine. He had so many questions about mobile suit.

He was willing to follow where the man led though, and they guy continued with his explanations.

"I was sailing through this area, and I caught sight of a pretty intense looking battle. I decided to stick around to watch." The man frowned a little. "You are you in a lot of pain?"

"Why did you bother to save me anyway?" That was probably the most important question for Zechs to get answered at the moment.

"You've become O.Z.'s enemy. Zechs Marquise, O.Z.'s very own hero, has broken away from them. There's no harm in taking care of you."

"That man is dead." O.Z.'s hero was at least. He wasn't so sure about Zechs Marquise quite honestly. He still felt more like Zechs than Milliardo, though he might have to be Milliardo for the time being. However, it was Zechs who technically was married to Noin, and he was not at all willing to give that up.

"That's what they say. The times are changing. I'd love to see the new era while I'm still alive."

Zechs listened as Howard talked about the current changes in the world and showed him the work that he'd done on Tallgeese. He had to admit that he was intrigued by the idea of going to space. He wasn't entirely sure what Treize was up. His ally had shared vague outlines of his plans with Zechs rather than the full details. But someone needed to make sure that both Earth and the colonies kept moving towards a long and lasting peace, and it would be a way to protect Relena and the Sanc Kingdom even if it was from afar. So into space he would go.


	56. Reintroductions

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 21. Some of these chapters have been posted before as part of This Kiss. The Prince and His Contessa will be going on a brief haitus for a few weeks.

* * *

**Reintroductions**

There was something about being in battle again that made Zechs blood sing. He didn't much care for the mobile dolls as opponents, but at least he was getting a feel for how Tallgeese handled in space. And the two Gundam pilots he was fighting (they had to be Gundam pilots; O.Z. did not have pilots on par with these two) were the sort of challenge he enjoyed. Though he was curious just what they were up to. Given his previous encounters with the pilots, he rather doubted they had actually joined O.Z.

But really this wasn't exactly the best time for a real battle, and he had the feeling the pilots agreed. So Zechs decided to bring things to a halt.

"I haven't got time to play games with you. Just haul me in." Zechs felt his lips twitch into a smile, but he resisted the urge to grin. He'd love to see what happened when Barton's game played out to the end. "Never would've guessed you'd sneak into O.Z."

"I'm Officer Trowa Barton." Trowa gave no sign they had ever met before. "I don't believe we've met, Zechs Marquise."

Zechs saw the opportunity that the introduction gave him. "I'll introduce myself.

I go by the name Milliardo Peacecraft. I've come from Earth as a goodwill ambassador."

Now Zechs smiled. He was going to play a part in the changes taking place here in space, and even if he wasn't entirely sure about what that part was or even taking up the identity that he had been born with, Zechs was still determined to do something.


	57. The Current State of Things

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old.

* * *

**The Current State of Things**

Noin is more than glad for the little kitchenette in her apartments in the Royal Palace. It's well past midnight, and while she can't sleep, she would be uncomfortable sneaking into the kitchens to fix herself hot chocolate. The hot drink was soothing, and she was hoping that it would help her get to sleep. Insomnia was not exactly helpful right now. Everything felt like it was up in the air. Noin had been keeping track of current events as well as running security for the princess, and she quite honestly wasn't sure what was going on with the world. What with Treize going from favored general to persona non grata and the Gundam pilots having execution orders hanging over their heads. And who knew what else was going on.

As she settled on her bed with the mug of cocoa, Noin let out a soft sigh. She hoped Zechs was doing all right. He hadn't contacted her since Antarctica, and while she now knew that he was fine, Noin was extremely tempted to strangle the man the next time she saw him. It would have been at least common courtesy to send her a message saying that he was all right and headed for space. But no, she had to find out that he was alive and visiting the colonies from the news media. That had not won him any brownie points. Even if she still worried about him.

She sipped her cocoa. Zechs was now in space being both Milliardo Peacecraft and a goodwill ambassador from the Sanc Kingdom. She also knew that Lady Une was in space doing something similar. What they were hoping to accomplish, Noin had no idea. Zechs hadn't seen fit to inform her of his plans. Of course, to be fair, Zechs might not have a firm plan at this point, and he might not even know what Treize was up to. That didn't stop Noin from feeling frustrated about not being in the loop.

Of course, there was also the Sanc Kingdom to rebuild and protect. It took a great deal of time, energy, and patience to keep up with Princess Relena. For example, the palace had been barely livable when Relena had suddenly decided to open a school there. Noin had spent an insanely hectic fortnight helping the princess put everything together for the school and arranging security measures, so both the students and the princess would be safe. It had been crazy, but they had managed it, and the school had opened its doors last week.

Noin closed her eyes. She was muddling through things the best she could with what information she had. She was making sure that the people Zechs cared about were safe. Noin didn't know what else she could do at the moment. It was a fact that she liked, but it was true. She sighed and finished her cocoa. Pulling the blankets up around her, Noin reached out to turn off her light.

"Stay safe, Zechs, and come home soon."

And hopefully, she'd be able to sleep tonight.


	58. A Glimpse Behind the Mask

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old.

* * *

**A Glimpse Behind the Mask**

She hadn't meant to snoop, but Relena couldn't help herself. She knew so little about this woman who had become her guardian and friend, and given the opportunity to peek around Noin's room a little, she couldn't pass it up. While she waited for the older woman to finish in the bathroom, Relena poked through the various items scattered around the room.

Noin had an odd collection of things. Her taste in books and music was elective with everything from philosophy to suspense novels and classical music to classic rock. Most of her knickknacks seemed space themed. And then there were the pictures. Noin had very few pictures. There were a few from Lake Victoria with her students and a collage of pictures of her brother. There was one with Relena herself. And there was one with a blond haired, blue eyed man carrying Noin piggyback. She supposed this could be her brother; she had never seen him without his mask. It was an adorable picture really. Noin was perched on the young man's back, arms wrapped around his neck. His head was turned to the side to kiss her cheek.

"I see you found your brother." Noin's amused voice came from behind her. "I think that's the only one I have without his mask."

Relena jumped, dropping the picture frame. Noin just laughed, easily catching the frame. She smiled fondly at the picture. "That was taken about a month after my eighteenth birthday. I'm about four months younger than he is, you know."

"I didn't. When's his birthday?"

Noin sat on the bed, gesturing for Relena to do the same. "The nineteenth of January, mine's the first of May."

Relena reached for the picture again. She traced her brother's face. "He has such nice eyes. I've never seen him without the mask. At least not that I remember."

"I'll see if anyone has some of the old pictures of you two. I'm sure some have survived." Noin tapped the frame. "This was a vacation in Italy. That's why he's not wearing the mask. We were far enough out in the countryside that he wasn't too worried about being recognized."

Relena tried to reconcile the smiling man in the picture with the masked man she had briefly met in Antarctica. "He seems so relaxed and happy. I would have never guessed he could smile like that."

"It was the last time we got together before everything started. We knew that it might be years before we could just be two friends on vacation." Seemingly lost in thought, Noin reached out a finger to trace Zechs' face. "This was our second to last day. We were out in the Tuscan countryside, visiting an old estate. I fell down a hill and sprained my ankle. Zechs insisted on carrying me back to the village. One of the villagers took the photo."

"I wish I actually knew him instead knowing of him." The idea of an older brother was intriguing.

"You will one day. I can make you a copy of the photo if you'd like." Noin levered herself to her feet. "Your class is going to be starting soon. Pacifism won't teach itself."

Relena reluctantly put down picture. "I'd like that. Do you think you could tell me more about that vacation later?"

"Of course. Shall we, your highness?"

She shook out her skirt. She had work to do. "Yes."


	59. Questions and Concerns

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old.

* * *

**Questions and Concerns**

Noin wasn't entirely sure about her plan, but she wasn't sure what else to do. She didn't know how to protect the Sanc Kingdom with words. That would be up to Relena. And the Sanc Kingdom would need protection. It was clear to Noin that the Sanc Kingdom was once again becoming a stronghold for those who did not support militarism, and that Relena was becoming an international icon in her own right. Noin didn't want to see the past repeat itself, and that meant that she needed to be able to protect the kingdom from attack.

Mobile suits were the way she knew how to do that. So she was gathering a few for the Sanc Kingdom. Besides, she didn't trust the Gundams in any hands other than their original pilots or Zechs'. If she could keep other people away from those particular suits, she would. Noin knew that she really should inform Relena about her current actions, but she hadn't yet, and she didn't know if she was going to. With any luck they would never need to use the mobile suits Noin was stockpiling. And Relena's not knowing about the mobile suits gave her plausible deniability if the matter ever came up.

She did have to admit that this plan of hers had gained her some interesting allies. Sally Po for one. While they had mostly just corresponded, Noin found she liked the other woman. It was not at all surprising to her that Sally had some involvement with one of the Gundam pilots. Those boys had a way of changing people's lives. And quite honestly, it was nice to talk to another adult. There was only so much time Noin could spend with teenage girls before she started to go insane. She loved Relena, yes, but Relena and her peers really could suck the energy out of you. Especially when they got caught up in something.

With any luck, they would never need to use the mobile suits that Noin was currently collecting. Noin was afraid that they weren't going to be lucky though. It was hard to tell what was going to happen next these days. The world was in a barely controlled chaos, and she had to admit that Relena was fast becoming a major beacon of order. Eventually, someone was going to want to put an end to her, and Noin refused to let that happen. The last time that the royal family of the Sanc Kingdom had been attacked, Noin had pretty much lost everyone she cared about outside of her own family. And she had lost her own family shortly after that. Relena and Zechs were all the family she had left in the world, and she would do what she had to in order to protect them.


	60. Uncomfortable Suspisions

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old.

* * *

**Uncomfortable Suspicions**

Noin trusted Dorothy Catalonia as far as she could throw the girl, and with both Catalonia and Heero and Quatre around, Noin was concerned about just what could happen. It didn't help that Catalonia clearly was trying to bait Heero on a regular basis. Noin sighed and went about fixing her cup of tea. When she had agreed to watch over Relena for Zechs, Noin hadn't realized that she would be dealing with more than one fifteen year old on a regular basis. Noin might have been an instructor at a military school, but civilian teenagers were a different creature all together. At least with the Gundam pilots Noin felt like she was on solid ground. Teenage girls were another story.

Dorothy's presence bothered Noin for another reason as well. The fact that she was here meant that Romefeller had taken notice of Relena in a serious way. Noin didn't trust Treize or the other officials at Romefeller much more than she trusted Catalonia, and she didn't know what they had planned for Relena. It couldn't be good whatever it was that they had up their sleeves, and Noin was trying to be on guard for it. This was one of those times she wished Zechs was around. He was much better at long term strategy than she was, and she was sure that he would be able to figure out what people were planning where she couldn't.

Noin sighed and dropped her head in her hands. It was times like this when it felt like no matter what she did, it wasn't enough. She knew that she couldn't hold the Sanc Kingdom together and protect it by herself, but that didn't stop her from feeling helpless at time. As optimistic as Noin tried to be, there were days when she felt that impending doom was hovering over them. Something would happen sooner or later, and it felt like all she could do was wait until the shoe dropped. Noin hated it, but she had done what she could, and now all that was left to do was wait.


	61. History Repeating Itself

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. Set after the Sanc Kingdom is dissolved.

* * *

**History Repeating Itself**

Noin had been waiting for the other shoe to drop, but just because she had been expecting it did not mean she wasn't any less overwhelmed when it actually happened. Of course, the fact that she remembered the first attack on the Sanc Kingdom didn't help either. Noin might have been a child at the time, but the Sanc Kingdom had been her second home, and its destruction (along with what she thought was the death of her beloved best friend) was engraved in her memory. This time things had gone differently, but still there was so much that was going on inside her own head.

Which was why despite all the work that Noin knew she had to do, she had found a quite place to just sit for a few minutes. The earlier battles had been nothing compared to this. They had been pretty standard, and she really wasn't that far removed from her days in O.Z. that they were something she had to adjust to. But this last battle was something else. Especially given all the emotions that were running through Noin's head. She was proud of Relena though. Relena had found a way to end the fighting that matched her ideals. What worried Noin was what would happen to the girl now. She was out of Noin's hands now, and Noin worried about her.

That was why Noin rather felt like strangling the princess once again. The idiot girl had put herself in Romefeller's hands where no one could protect her. Well, almost no one. Noin doubted much of anything could keep Heero Yuy away from Relena. Still, what had she been thinking? Yes, she had ended things peacefully, and she probably had saved the Sanc Kingdom from physical destruction, but if Relena herself was either killed or corrupted by Romefeller, it would be a loss for the entire world. Not to mention what it would do to Zechs. He already blamed himself for too much, and he seemed to feel personally responsible for what happened his little sister.

Noin was still worried about him as well. She hadn't been able to keep very good tabs on Zechs lately. She knew that he had a new mobile suit, but she did not know where he was or what he was up to now. She had a feeling that he was not going to take the dissolving the Sanc Kingdom well at all. And as much as she wanted to be there for him at this moment, without knowing where he was there was little she could do. Which irked her quite a bit. She loved the man, and right now, he was really annoying her as well as worrying her. How could she be any support to him if he wouldn't let her know where he was? She was his wife, damn it, and if this had to do with him thinking he was protecting her somehow by distancing himself from her, she was going to have to hurt him.

Sighing, Noin rest her head in her hands a few moments longer. As much as she would like to just sit and rest for a little while longer, there was work to be done. It felt like they were hurtling towards something, though she wasn't sure what was coming. But she would do what she could and hope for the best. It was all she could do at this point. At least this time around, she was old enough to make a difference in what came next. And hopefully, this time around she would not have to wait years to be reunited with Zechs.


	62. Lost

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. Set after the Sanc Kingdom is dissolved.

* * *

**Lost**

It feels like someone has pulled the rug out from under him. Zechs hunched over the bar and tried to make sense of the world. He felt like a failure. The Sanc Kingdom had fallen once again. This time barely after it had been reestablished. And Zechs couldn't help but thing it might be his fault. He hadn't been strong enough to protect his home, and so once again it had fallen.

Of course, part of Zechs knew better than that. That was also the part of him that was rather furious with Relena. How could she have simply dissolved their kingdom? Didn't she know what that would do? Then again, she was young, and he might be angrier with her if he wasn't so worried about her. And proud of her to a certain extent. She had united the entire the world, even if she had done it as a figure head for Romefeller.

He was also worried about her. What was Relena doing in Romefeller hands? Why was she working for them now? Didn't she know that they couldn't be trusted? And where was Noin? That was what worried him the most. Zechs had heard absolutely nothing whatsoever about Noin since the second fall of the Sanc Kingdom. He didn't even know if she was still alive. He hoped she was. Surely her death would have been reported. But he didn't know for sure what had happened to her, and if he thought about more than for just a moment or two it started driving him crazy.

Noin was on his mind for more than just that reason though. Zechs was torn on whether he wanted her here with him or not. Quite frankly, Noin was one of the few things that he could count on, and if he ever needed an anchor, it was now. But it might be better for her if he just let her go. The path he'd chosen for himself was not exactly the best one, and it had no guarantee of a future. If he let her go, maybe Noin could find a new life and some happiness for herself. But Zechs also knew that he really was too selfish to ever let her go.

Still it was probably better that she wasn't here at the moment. He'd figure things out. Eventually. Just at the moment, Zechs had no idea what to do, and he hadn't really made any headway on that when Quinze approached him. But White Fang was something that he could latch on to, and he had nothing else to grasp at the moment. This was a role he could play, and it at least was a course of action that he could take.


	63. Keep Moving Forward

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. Set after the Sanc Kingdom is dissolved.

* * *

**Keep Moving Forward**

Being busy was a good thing. It kept Noin from thinking and worrying too much. When she spent her days running around like crazy and overworking herself, she slept without dreams and nightmares. Which was a good thing at this point in the game. Noin couldn't afford to falter or be less than her best right now. She was not sure what exactly was going to happen next, but she needed to be ready to deal with it. The woman had no doubts that there would soon be a confrontation of some sort between Earth and the space colonies, and she had no idea how that would turn out or what it would mean.

So she tried to focus on the things that she could do. Because if she didn't her life would be consumed with worry. Worry about Zechs, worry about Relena, worry about the Gundam pilots, worry about the world in general, even worry about herself. There was plenty to go around. She was surrounded by so much uncertainty right now there was plenty to worry about. But Noin also knew that she wouldn't be any good to anyone involved in this mess if she wasted her energy worrying.

Still, the seldom still moments of her day, Noin worried about Zechs mostly. She hoped that things would work out for them. She didn't entirely know why he was doing this, and she only hoped that she could pull him back from the brink if necessary. Part of her was hoping that there was some great plan behind all of this that would be revealed. If that was the case, she was going to be irked that she hadn't been told what the plan was, but at least that was better than if this was all just because Zechs had finally snapped and gone off the deep end. Given all of the trauma, upheaval, and stress in his life, that was a possibly even if it was one that she didn't like.

Noin still believed that they could find some sort of peaceful future, even if she couldn't quite see the path to that at the moment. But first they would have to survive the battle that she knew was coming, and she could only hope that in the end everyone she cared for would survive. Because they were hurtling towards the future now, and really all they could do was keep moving forward.


	64. Unthinkable

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 47.

* * *

**Unthinkable**

The reaction hit Zechs like a ton of bricks. His hands were shaking. The adrenaline was high, and Epyon was screaming at him. God, had he just? He checked his monitors again, trying to calm his breathing. Noin's Taurus was still there complete with life sign. She was alive. She was safe.

He'd nearly killed her. When had things gotten so out of hand? Zechs called her image to mind a talisman against the fate that had almost occurred. How could he have come so close? The heat of battle was no excuse, the speed of the dark outside blurring all targets together into one. This was Noin; she was everything.

His past. His conscience. His first kiss. His companion. His subordinate. His friend. His wife. His future. His world. There was nothing left for him should she be destroyed. The future without her was unthinkable. Life without her was unthinkable. He wouldn't want to survive had he killed her. What good was a peaceful future when she wasn't there to share it with him?

Zechs shook his head, trying to clear it. He had to see things through. He couldn't stop now. Things were already in motion, and he and Treize had to finish this in order to try and establish true peace. He couldn't let this mistake shake him. He just needed to know she was safe, and then he could finish things.


	65. Shock and Awe

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 47.

* * *

** Shock and Awe**

Noin was quite sure she was in shock. She rather doubted she would be able to pilot her mobile suit if she wasn't. That had been the single most terrifying moment of her life. She hadn't known if she could reach Zechs or not, and despite the fact that she could have fired on him, Noin knew that she never would have. She had trusted that she could bring Zechs to his senses by standing her ground, and it seemed to have worked.

Still, there had been a moment there when she truly believed that Zechs might kill her, and that would have meant he was lost. He wouldn't have been the man she loved any more, and if she lost him, Noin wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to live. And while she knew that Sally and the Gundam pilots might not understand the way she had chosen to play out that confrontation, Noin had needed to do it that way. She had needed to see just who it was she was facing. If it was her Zechs or a stranger with a familiar face.

But she never wanted to do that again. It had been all together terrifying, and she knew that it had made her allies doubt her. And Noin was pretty sure she had terrified Zechs as well. Her next reunion with her husband would be without life or death situations if Noin had her way. And as much as she would like to just go back to Peacemillion and collapse in a little heap for the next few hours, this battle wasn't over yet, and Noin knew she would be needed. So she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This wasn't over yet, and she still had work to do.


	66. One Quiet Moment

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Episode 47.

* * *

** One Quiet Moment**

It wasn't over yet. They both knew that. There was still more before this was would be over, and this lull would not last. But for the moment, they both could ignore that. Their brief conversation had settled what was needed between the two of them, and now they were just enjoying one another's presence. Both Zechs and Noin knew that there was still the chance that one or both of them might be killed. War was never predictable, and this one had yet to end. But it would end soon enough.

Noin let out a quiet sigh. This was really the first time she'd been alone with Zechs in weeks. Standing beside one another in mobile suits wasn't exactly the same as being able to physically reach out and touch each other, but it was what was possible for the moment, and Noin would not give that up. They both needed this. For years they had been one another's touchstone and anchor, and it was comforting to touch bases before they moved on again to the battle that was waiting.

Part of her found it hard to believe that they were here now, and she didn't know what to expect from the future. She hoped that this would be the end of the fighting and that she and Zechs might finally have a chance to be a normal young couple. Or at least as normal as the two of them could ever be. But there would be work to do as well. If this was the end of the whole cycle of fighting, there would be a lot of work both to clean up the mess war had made and to put new ways of doing things in motion. Relena would probably be at the forefront of those changes, but there would still be things that Noin and Zechs could do.

Space was still, and here the stars were bright. And even though it was sentimental and wouldn't help much, Noin couldn't help but making a wish on one of the distant stars that they all came through this next battle alive and whole.


	67. New Beginnings

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set at the end of Episode 49.

* * *

**New Beginnings**

Somehow it seemed appropriate to Noin to start thing off by paying her respects to the past. She wanted to acknowledge what had happened before she got caught up in working towards the future. She knew that things were going to be extremely busy and hectic for the next few months if not for the next few years. And while Noin was perfectly happy to be moving forward as the world changed, there were some goodbyes that she had never really been able to say before, and it seemed like now would be a good time for them.

Her first stop had been Italy. Noin had been back to her homeland since her childhood, but she had never returned to her former home. Not until now. The estate itself was no longer accessible to her, but the church and its graveyard were. She had never visited her parents' graves before, but now felt the right time to do so. She was an adult now. She missed them, but she had also grieved for them over the years, and now the pain was not as great as it had been when she was child.

She had brought bouquets with her. Tulips had been her mother's favorite flower, and Noin had chosen a collection of red and yellow ones to lay on her parents' tomb. Noin found herself standing in front of the marble headstones with the flowers in hand and words pouring out of her.

"…I married Zechs you know. I mean, I know it was planned for us to marry, but given all that happened, I know it wouldn't have been expected of us. But we wanted to. We were married here in Italy. Technically, my name is Noin Marquise now. We both legally changed our names after the wedding. It was a precaution more than anything. Zechs and Noin Marquise are less noticeable than Milliardo Emrys Stephan Zechs and Lucrezia Alessa Fiammeta Illeana Peacecraft after all. Also, easier to write on forms. Besides, Noin has always been more of who I was than Lucrezia. It hasn't been an easy life, but it's been a worthwhile one so far I think. I'm happy. Well, as happy as I can be given the current circumstances, but I think I made the right choices for myself." She bit her lip. "I miss you. It wasn't fair that I lost you like I did, but I know life isn't fair. I love you both. Goodbye."

Noin placed the flowers on the grave and let her tears fall. This wasn't the first time she had cried for her parents, but this time the tears left in their wake a sense of peace. And with that behind her, Noin moved on to the next place on her list.

The Sanc Kingdom's cathedral miraculously had not been destroyed during either assault on the nation, and while King Stephan and Queen Katrina had not been given a state funeral as they deserved, they had been allowed a proper burial. Their monument had been carved out of white marble and was a fitting tribute to the peace loving monarchs. Noin paused before it, her hand tightening around the bouquet of calla lilies she carried. Stephan and Katrina had been like an aunt and uncle to her as a child. They had welcomed her into their family, and they were the parents of her beloved. It had hurt when they'd been killed, and she had grieved for them.

But as uncomplicated as her childhood memories were of them, they had also come to represent other things in her life, mostly Zechs' battles with his own demons. For as much as he knew that his parents had loved him, Zechs did believe that he had failed them, especially his father. Noin wasn't entirely sure that was true. King Stephan had not had to face the world his son lived in, and neither of them truly knew what the king might have done had he survived. Zechs still struggled with both his parents' deaths and their legacy, and all Noin could do was stand beside him and try to support him as he did so. She laid the lilies alongside other offerings that had been left at the foot of the monument.

"I married Zechs like you and my parents planned. He offered not to hold me to that agreement, but I wanted to marry him. I love him. I'm proud of him both because of and despite of some of the things he's done. I think you would feel the same way. Relena has turned out to be a wonderful young woman. This might not be the life you had expected for all three of this, but I know that we will make the most of it."

It was awkward and uncomfortable, but once she had said it, Noin felt far more at ease. She had needed to come here. Noin let out a sigh. She had one more place it felt like she needed to go and one last goodbye to make. And she wasn't at all surprised to discover that she was not the only person there when she arrived. Noin had a feeling that Treize Kushranada's grave would have many visitors over the years, and finding both Lady Une and Dorothy there didn't surprise her in the least.

Noin respected Treize. She understood many of the things he had done even if she didn't always agree with them. She respected and shared many of his goals, and she respected the sacrifices he had made. It was very true that Earth and the colonies would not be where they were now if it hadn't been for Treize. But Noin couldn't help but wonder if there had been another way to accomplish the same goals. One without the loss of life and all of the other damage that had been done.

Standing at Treize's grave and paying her respects meant that Noin could not avoid seeing the grave beside it, even if she knew that there was noting underneath the headstone that bore the name Milliardo Peacecraft. The world had decided that Milliardo Peacecraft was dead and had buried him. Noin knew better, but it was not something she was inclined to discuss with others. It was also a subject that almost inevitably came up. Especially since Dorothy had noticed that she had only brought one bouquet with her.

"Why do you never pay your respects to Milliardo's grave, Miss Noin?"

Noin smiled. "I don't need to. I know he's still alive out there."

Dorothy just shook her head, but Noin let the subject drop. She didn't want to get into that debate. It was one grave that Noin was more than happy she didn't have to visit. Though, if she had, Noin didn't think she would be ready to let go yet. Then again, she didn't know if she would ever be ready or able to let go of Zechs. But that wasn't something she had to worry about at the moment. Now was the time to focus on what came next. Things had changed, but there was a lot of work to do to insure that they stayed changed for the better.


	68. Gainful Employment

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set between the TV series and Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Gainful Employment**

Noin had to face facts. As it turned out, she probably wasn't suited for anything except a military career. She had spent the last month or so mopping up from the final battle and trying to find herself a job. Yes, she did have quite a bit of money saved up, but Noin would prefer not to rely solely on that. However, finding a job that she was qualified for was proving harder than Noin had expected, and she was finding that she just was comfortable in many work environments. She had basically been in the military since she was a child.

And while she had quite a number of skills, many of them did not translate well into civilian life. At this point, it was looking like her best options would either be law enforcement of some sort or mechanics. Noin actually knew quite a bit about how mobile suits worked even if she hadn't often gotten a chance to work on them. She basically had the equivalent of a degree in engineering, but since all her education had basically been through the Alliance military, Noin didn't know how any of that would hold up in the civilian world.

But she was going to have to find something to do. Not only did she not want to have to rely on her savings, but she also thought she might go crazy without having regular work. She was not exactly used to having free time, and Noin wasn't sure how to fill it. If Zechs had been around, that might be another story, but he wasn't, and she was no her own. Really, part of the problem was that she was used to being involved in things. Noin wasn't sure if sitting on the sidelines was something she could do on a regular basis.

So when she got the message that Sally Po wanted to meet her for lunch, Noin agreed. It was better than spending her day looking at want ads or trying to track down what had happened to this or that soldier. Arriving at the café, Noin had been surprised to find both Sally and Lady Une waiting for her. Une waited until they had ordered and their drinks had arrived before getting down to business.

"I have a proposition for you two. I've been approached by the government about creating a new organization, and I want you both as my first two agents."

Noin sat back and listened.


	69. Tea for Two

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set between the TV series and Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Tea for Two**

Relena smiled as the dark haired woman took the seat across from her at the table. It had been a while since she'd been able to catch up with Noin, and Relena had to admit she was looking forward to this lunch. Both women had been inordinately busy since the end of the war. Relena herself had been caught up with establishing and restructuring the new government while Noin had gotten involved with the Preventers, an organization that would act as a watch dog and investigation agency. Neither had easy tasks to accomplish.

Still, Relena had always felt a sense of kinship with the older woman, and she had been more than willing to make time for this lunch in her schedule, even if they had needed to reschedule about three times. Relena was a little worried about Noin. With the death of Relena's brother in the final battle, she had every right to be. It had always been clear that Noin and her brother had a special relationship, though Noin's feelings had been clearer than her brother's, and Relena hadn't expected the woman to react well to the man's death. However, Noin refused to believe he was dead.

Noin carried on with a calm serenity and an insistence that Zechs was alive out there somewhere. Some people had called it denial. Relena wasn't so sure. For one thing, Noin did not act like a woman in denial. She had gone on with her life, and if she was waiting for Zechs to return, at least she was spending that time productively. The woman might not be dating, but she clearly wasn't stuck in the past. She also wasn't really bottling up her emotions either. She would freely admit when asked that she missed Zechs. And for another thing, if anyone had a good idea of what Zechs Marquise was capable of, it would be Noin. So while Relena didn't exactly believe that her brother was still alive, she was taking the whole matter with a grain of salt. Besides, Relena had missed having a friend to talk to. Coworkers, employees, and other politicians weren't exactly the same.

"Sorry I'm running late, Relena. We've had yet another snafu with getting the Preventer offices set up."

Relena laughed. "Don't worry about it. I ordered iced tea for us, but that's it so far. What happened this time?"

"Would you believe they shipped our new computers to the wrong city? I mean, yes, there are many cities with the same name, but that's why you check shipping labels before you send packages."

"Did you get things sorted out?"

"Only after three hours of debate about it." Noin glanced down at her menu. "So what's good here?"

"I like their sandwich and soup combo."

"Hmm." Noin glanced across the table. "So what's this I hear about interns in your office stealing a collection of jello shots from another politician's office?"

Relena grinned. "It's a long story."

No, Relena didn't think that Noin was doing herself any harm by believing that Zechs was still alive, and as long as her friend was willing to get together and commiserate about their jobs, Relena didn't think that she had much to worry about. And there were definitely worse ways to spend their lunch hour.


	70. Belief In Things Unseen

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set between the TV series and Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Belief in Things Unseen**

Noin knew she wasn't in denial. Unfortunately, convincing anyone of that fact was proving impossible. Neither Une nor Sally would accept what she said on faith. And while Noin did have quite solid proof that one Zechs Marquise was still alive, that proof would cause more trouble than Noin was willing to deal with. The fact that she and Zechs were married was not common knowledge and the full circumstances behind the marriage would take quite a bit of explanation. And she really wasn't interested in explaining them right now.

The truth of the matter was Zechs Marquise was currently in a coma at hospital on L-3. He had suffered a number of serious injuries as well as minor head trauma in the final battle. Noin knew this because two weeks after Libra she has received a phone call trying to locate Noin Marquise, Mr. Marquise's next of kin. She had been on the next shuttle to L-3 afterwards.

It was the one and only time she had visited him. Even with what the doctor had told her, she hadn't been prepared for the sight of Zechs hooked up to all the tubes and machines. Noin had stayed long enough to make arrange and then fled back to earth. As much as she loved Zechs, she couldn't stay. It hurt too much to see him like that. And she would admit to being afraid that if she stayed, she would lose faith in him recovering. She didn't want to remember him that way. She wanted to remember water fights in the Sanc Palace's fountains and stolen kisses at Victoria.

One day the hospital would call to tell her that he had left. She wouldn't be surprised. Zechs would need time to adjust to how the world had changed and make some decisions about what came next for him. And as much as she wanted to be back at his side, Noin knew that he needed to do some of it on his own. Zechs needed to learn to let go if he was going to survive, and that was something he needed to do for himself. Not for her or even with her.

She had faith in him though. He would wake up, and he would find his purpose to his life again. And he would find her. He had found her when they each believed the other to be dead. She could deal with Une's lectures about moving on and letting go and Sally's attempts to get her to date. She had faith in him and in them.


	71. Awakenings

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set between the TV series and Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Awakenings**

Consciousness came slowly. Zechs drifted in and out of awareness for quite awhile before he really woke. He overheard snippets of conversation, but nothing that really caught his attention. He knew he was in a hospital or medical facility of some sort. He could tell that from the smell and from half heard conversations of the staff. There was no one he recognized among them. Part of him had been hoping to hear Noin's voice, but there was no sign of her. That made him worry.

He remembered what had happened before hand. Noin had survived the battle up to the point where he had destroyed Epyon. He didn't know what had happened after that. She should have been fine, but there was always a chance that something had happened to her. He wanted to know that she was safe. He wasn't as worried about the rest of it. He knew that earth and the colonies would be fine in Relena's capable hands. She was well suited to the task of piecing the world back together.

But Noin was another story. Despite the fact that they had a very disrupted life so far, she had been his constant. And he wanted a chance for a more constant relationship with her, not just whatever stolen moments they could manage. Quite frankly, without her to return to, Zechs would have been willing to simply die now that his goals had been pretty much achieved. But he knew that would break her heart, and he wasn't yet willing to give up on the idea of a normal (or at least normal-ish) life with her. He knew his wife well enough to know that she was too stubborn to just move on with her life without him, and he wasn't sure that he really wanted her to. It was selfish of him, but Zechs knew he had always been rather selfish, especially when it came to Noin.

So it was with her in mind that he finally climbed back into the land of the living. Zechs opened his eyes to find himself in a small white hospital room. The nurse started when he realized that his eyes were open, and soon there was a flurry activity around him. An orderly helped him sit up in the bed, and Zechs took the opportunity to get a good look around. It was clearly a private room, though small, and it was clean. There was a window, but the view didn't tell him much. He could guess he was on a colony, but other than that, Zechs couldn't discern. It did not take long for a doctor to show up with a clipboard.

"Ah, you're awake, Mr. Marquise." The man smiled at him. "How do you feel?"

"Where am I?" His voice was hoarse from disuse.

"A hospital on L-3. You've been in a coma for six and half months. I have some questions to ask you. Can you tell me your name?"

"Zechs Marquise."

"And you're wife's name?"

If they knew he had a wife, then Noin had set him up in this treatment facility. Just about no one else knew about their marriage. And that meant that she was alive. "Noin Marquise."

"Her date of birth?"

"May first, After Colony 176."

"What about your birthday?"

"January twenty-ninth, After Colony 176."

The man nodded. "Good. It looks like your long term memory is intact. I'll be frank with you, Mr. Marquise. You were badly injured, and you've been in a coma for a good length of time. We don't know if you have any brain damage. Even if there is no brain damage, your recovery is going to take time and effort."

Zechs nodded. "When can we get started?"


	72. Festivities

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Festivities**

Noin had never liked parties like these to start with. Not when she was a child, not when she was with O.Z., and not now. She understood the purpose and necessity of them, but if it were up to her, Noin would be working right now. However, Une had tapped her to go to the Christmas party with her, and Noin was stuck. Her boss would do her political schmoozing while Noin stuck to the background and kept an eye on things. If Relena had been here, she would have been able to chat with someone, but most of the politicians present weren't people Noin was interested in talking to.

It was not how she had wanted to spend her Christmas Eve. To be fair, she hadn't really wanted to spend Christmas Eve working at all, but working with Sally on a legitimate concern was far preferable to being stuck at a party full of politicians. Noin's ideal Christmas Eve would have been spent with Zechs, but that didn't appear to be in the cards this year. But at least she knew he was now awake and out of his coma. She hadn't had any other news besides that, but Noin still took that as a hopeful sign. Maybe next year they'd have a Christmas together.

Still, being here at this party tonight was not helping her mood, however hopeful about the future she was. Part of it was this event itself. But part of it had to do with the niggling feeling that something was wrong. Noin had no proof that something was up. None of the brushfires she and Sally had dealt with lately had been particularly bad, and there wasn't much evidence that someone was currently building up to something, but all the same, Noin was fairly certain that something was wrong. And waiting for that shoe to really drop was driving her a little crazy.

But without proof, she had nothing to really go on or to take to her boss. Not many people trusted her hunches to the extent that they would actually authorize an operation looking into something that might not be there. So she would just have to wait. Sooner or later she would get her answers. It could just be a fluke, but her hunches were rarely wrong. Zechs had actually used them as fact a couple of times. She sighed and sipped at her punch.

She couldn't avoid it. Her mind kept circling back to Zechs tonight. There were probably several reasons for that. She missed him, and with the news that he had left the hospital, Noin had high hopes that their paths would cross again soon. If he wanted to find her, it wouldn't be hard. If he had been here with her, this would have been their first Christmas together as a married couple. Now, technically, there had been other Christmases when they had been married, but they had never been together as a married couple on Christmas before. Noin was looking forward to having that experience though.

There were a number of things that Noin was looking forward to experiencing with Zechs as a married couple. For all they had been married almost a year and a half at this point, they had never really had a chance to be a married couple, and she wanted that experience. She sighed again. This train of thought was not helping. Noin might be good at being patient and waiting, but that didn't mean she didn't get frustrated with the situation at times. Shaking her head, she headed for the refreshment table in hopes of finding something tasty to lighten her mood. This was not a night she wanted to be melancholy on, and Noin was going to make an effort to at least enjoy some part of the evening, even if it was only the food.


	73. The Road Forward

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Endless Waltz.

* * *

**The Road Forward**

Zechs didn't exactly believe in fate. However, he couldn't help but noticing the way that sometimes events in his life just lined up. He had finally finished his physical therapy and medical treatments two weeks ago. He had a clean bill of health and had managed to get himself back into his normal physical condition. He still have a few minor problems, and his stamina wasn't back to what it had been, but in time he would get there. But he was well enough to return to his normal life now, and that meant that Zechs had to figure out just what he wanted.

His former goals were either accomplished or irrelevant. There was peace, and Relena clearly was doing fine on her own. Zechs had followed her career through the news media, and it was obvious that not only was Relena a political player these days but she was also getting a great deal accomplished that would benefit all of the citizens of ESUN. That left really only one thing for him. Not that Zechs exactly minded that, especially since that one thing was Noin. However, there were some complications.

Employment would be one of them. Zechs had never had a career outside of the military, and finding work that matched his skills would probably be difficult. Another issue would be his identity. Milliardo Peacecraft was not exactly a popular figure. Now, of course, people did believe he was dead. And since his legal identity was that of Zechs Marquise and not everyone knew that they were connected, that might actually not be such a big deal. It was still a concern though. Part of Zechs did wonder if he was coming up with all of these issues as an excuse though.

Because as much as he wanted a normal (or at least normal-ish) life for himself and Noin, it was uncharted territory, and as Noin had often pointed out, he did not deal with change well. In all their years together, the changes in their relationship had been rather gradual, and due to their circumstances, they had never really lived together as a couple. It intimated Zechs to an extent. He had seen many happy marriages growing up, but he had also seen some disastrous ones as well. He didn't like the thought that he and Noin might fall apart, but avoiding her for the rest of his life was just as abhorrent.

So Zechs was just going to have to deal with the changes that would come and go and see Noin. Looking her up had not been hard. While she had not been as much in the public eye as Relena had, her involvement in the Preventers had been included in a few press releases. Of course, it helped that he knew what to look for when looking up Noin's address. At this point, she was very likely to do things like rent an apartment under her married name rather than her known identity. It provided extra privacy and security for one thing.

He'd actually been on Earth in order to see her when Marimeia began her coup. It had quickly been obvious that not only would Noin not be at home right now, but that Zechs had a choice to make as well. It looked like he still had a role to play and a job to do. So instead of heading to a small apartment near one of the markets, he went straight to Preventer Headquarters.


	74. Pick Up Duty

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are nineteen years old. This is set during Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Pick Up Duty**

Noin was slightly irked at her new assignment. She was one of two senior Preventer operatives, and she was pretty sure that her time could be better spent. However, her curiosity was also peaked. It didn't seem likely that Une would reassign her to a relatively unimportant mission at a time like this, and getting a new partner along with that was also odd. Noin could only think of a handful of people who were likely to make her boss do such a thing, and she was working very hard not to get her hopes up.

Of course, it would be just like Zechs to show up in the middle of a mess like this. He never could do things the easy way, and this was something she didn't think he would feel comfortable sitting out. She sighed as her fingers drifted over her ship's controls. Really, she shouldn't bother trying to keep from hoping it was Zechs. She knew she was already hoping just that. She had been hoping that he would reappear in her life ever since she had gotten the call that he left the hospital. But he had yet to do so. But sooner or later he would, and Noin was hoping for sooner.

She sighed again. The problem with assignments like this was there often wasn't anything to do while she was in transit from destination to destination. Noin had already killed forty-five minutes dealing with just about every minor little maintenance task that she could come up with. Now she was without anything to occupy her time except for her own thoughts. Noin would much rather have something else to distract her. Her hand automatically went to the wedding ring she wore on a chain around her neck.

To be honest, she didn't know what the next move would be when Zechs came back. They would have to figure out what they wanted to do about a number of things: where to live, employment, etc. Though if she was being honest, Noin had to admit that those issues probably would not come up for discussion for at least a few hours after their reunion. Now, if her new partner was Zechs, she was going to have to change her time table a bit. It would probably be save the world, have proper reunion with husband, then figure out what they would do next. Noin shut her eyes a moment, remembering the last time they'd been together. They'd been standing together in space looking at the earth, just the two of them together despite all that had been going on around them at the time. An alarm jolted her out of her memory. Noin glanced down at the control panel. She was approaching her destination. Time to pick up her new partner.

She knew exactly who it was the moment she saw the Tallgeese. It really couldn't have been anyone else except for him, and Noin couldn't stop her heartbeat from speeding up. Finally. It only took a few pressed buttons to open a communications channel. Zechs' face might be covered by the book he was reading, but it was him.

"Zechs."

"Is that you, Noin?" She could hear the warmth in his voice.

She smiled. "I've come to pick you up, Zechs."

"Thanks." He looked up with a slight smile on his face. "So Noin, how have you been doing? Thanks. Noin, how have you been?"

Noin couldn't hold back her smile. "Good. Zechs, it's been one year and two days."

Her counting the days was a habit that Zechs had always teased her about. It was also her subtle way of saying welcome back. She wasn't going to come out and say it just yet, but she didn't want Zechs unsure of his welcome. She knew they still had quite a bit of work to do before this situation with Marimeia was resolved, but Noin couldn't completely suppress the giddy sensation in her chest. Once again she was Zechs would be working and fighting side by side, and that typically never boded well for their opponents.


	75. Reunions

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty years old. This is set during Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Reunions**

The moment he'd heard Noin's voice over the communications channel, Zechs knew that he'd come home. He hid his impatience as they completed the procedures to get Tallgeese on board her ship. He knew it was necessary. He did have to be on the ship if he wanted to see her in person after all, but it seemed to take far longer to complete the task than usual. Still, he was more than ready to get out of the mobile suit by the time they were done, and Noin was waiting for him.

The first thing he did was wrap his arms around her and hold her close. Noin let out a soft sigh and held on just as tight. Zechs rest his cheek on the top of her head. He had no words really, but they didn't actually need them. Moments later, Noin shifted in his embrace, tilting her head up so she could kiss him. It was several long moments later when he pulled back. Noin smiled up at him.

"Hi."

Zechs rest his forehead against hers. "Hi."

He knew that there were things for them to deal with, both personally and professionally. Marimeia had to be stopped, and he knew that he and Noin had a number of things to discuss in regards to where to go from here. They still had quite a bit of work to do though before they could sit down and have that discussion though. But he was going to steal just a few moments were and now to enjoy having Noin back in his arms and back in his life. He was home, and right at this instant, that was all that mattered.


	76. Into the Fray

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty years old. This is set during Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Into the Fray**

They prepared in silence. It was oddly comfortable. The two of them had done things many times before a battle. There was no need to really talk. The anticipation of the upcoming battle hung in the air, but Noin felt like she was on solid ground. Despite the fact that she and Zechs would be outnumbered and hampered by the fact that they didn't want to kill their opponents, Noin felt a sense of calm going into this fight. She would be fighting with Zechs at her side. They would watch one another's backs.

It didn't matter that they hadn't seen one another in a year and two days. Not when it came to something like this. Whatever the status of their relationship other places when it came to fighting together, it had always been easy and instinctive. They might not have fought side by side in ages, but it was easy to slip back into familiar habits.

Zechs caught her eyes across the mobile suit hanger and offered her a small smile. She smiled back. They were just about ready to go. They would check in with Une for any last minute details, and then it would be time to act. Noin knew that they were facing long odds, but she didn't care. Someone had to do this. Marimeia couldn't be allowed simply to win. Even if they did not succeed in their attempt to stop her, it would at least make someone somewhere think about what was happening. And while it probably didn't have to be the two of them to deal with this problem, Zechs was determined to do so, and Noin wasn't about to let him fight on his own this time.

She wasn't letting the man out of her sight if she could help it, and she wasn't willing to stand in the sidelines this time. No, this time they were fighting the battle together, and he wasn't going to be able to get rid of her for any reason. She had just as much stake in this as he did, and she refused to lose him again. Win or lose, they were in this one together, and not even Zechs could talk her out of it. With once last glance over her mobile suit, Noin gave a sharp nod. They were ready. Now it was time to put an end to this.


	77. Back to Back

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty years old. This is set during Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Back to Back**

Part of Noin thrilled at the experience of fighting back to back with Zechs. Not the circumstances, but there was something about working in unison with him that made her feel more alive than just about anything. They had never needed a great deal of communication for these fights. Their connection was instinctive. They watched one another's back, stepping in when it was needed and trusting the other to protect them.

And this fight in particular was a challenge. It was not exactly difficult to bring down another mobile suit, especially when you had better technology than your enemies. However, doing that without harming the other mobile suit pilot was far more difficult. Une had emphasized that casualties were to be avoided at all costs, and Noin was all for that idea. Even if it did put her at a disadvantage in a fight. Her enemies were trying to kill her.

But she and Zechs were more than holding their own. So far the damage they had taken was minimal, and they had managed to avoid too much collateral damage so far. In the end, she knew that they might not win this fight, but at least they were showing the people that you could stand up to Marimeia and that this wasn't the way to achieve a lasting peace. And at this rate, they might actually win the fight as well.

She was not quite as optimistic as things continued. They might outclass their enemy in both skill and technology, but Marimeia had more numbers, and she didn't care about sacrificing her people to win. Especially once she had secured herself inside the Presidential Residence. Even as more mobile suits flooded into the area though, Noin wasn't about to give up.

"Zechs. The Brussels Presidential Residence is shield protected. We can't even get to it."

His voice came back over the com line. "I realize that. But unless I do what I can, there's no one who is going to stand against them!"

"Who are you waiting for?" she asked.

"For those who hope for peace. If people allow Marimeia to do as she wishes, they'll end up giving birth to a second Milliardo Peacecraft." He paused then continued, his voice gentle. "Noin, you really don't have to stick around with me."

She knew what he was doing. Zechs was trying to protect her. He was being noble and self-sacrificing once again, and this time, Noin wasn't going along with it. Either they both survived this battle together or they both died. She was done being separated from him. By his side was the only place she wanted to be, and if that meant staying in a losing battle and risking death, so be it.

"Zechs, I told you a year ago that I will never leave your side. I've waited all of this time and I simply can't wait any longer."


	78. Even Angels Fall

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty years old. This is set during Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Even Angels Fall**

Zechs let out a sigh, loosening the straps that held him in place. Once again they had stopped things in time. The horsemen of the apocalypse had been routed and sent packing, hopefully not to return anytime soon. The battle was over, and maybe this time people would be willing to fight a little harder to keep the peace. It was over with, and now they just had to pick up the pieces of their lives. It was probably time for that serious conversation with Noin about what they did next.

Noin landed her Taurus beside Tallgeese, and Zechs frowned, noticing for the first time how serious the damage to her suit was. It was impressive that she had managed to keep up with the rest of them give the condition of the Taurus. Of course, Noin had been the second best pilot in their year for reason. She would have been the best pilot in her year if it weren't for him.

He flicked on the com channel concerned; she hadn't reported anything wrong, but she also wouldn't report anything unless it was very serious. It was just the way she was. "Noin?"

"I'm fine." Her voice was tired. "I'll meet you on the ground."

Zechs was waiting when she finally winched down to the tarmac. Noin let go of the cable only to practically collapse. Zechs rushed forward to catch her.

"Noin?"

"I'm fine." Her teeth were gritted. "Just tired."

He knew her better than that; she was injured. He just didn't know how badly. Not life threatening probably, but she was still in pain, and that was unacceptable to him. Zechs swung her up into his arms. "You are seeing a doctor."

"Zechs, I'm perfectly fine. It's just been a long week." She leaned her into his shoulder. "Une's going to need my help with the mop up."

"Une doesn't need her subordinates collapsing on her either." He kissed her forehead. "Besides, you never let me get away with abusing myself, and I'm not about to let you pick up my bad habits."

She sighed but let him carry her over to the temporary medical center that had set up on the tarmac. It didn't take long for someone to come take care of them. One of the doctors diagnosed a second degree sprained ankle and gave her prescription for painkillers and a pair of crutches as well as instructions to keep off the ankle for the next twenty-four hours and to take it easy at work. Zechs sighed at that; he doubted that Noin was likely to do so given the amount of work this whole mess would cause her.

He insisted on carrying her again as they made their way back to Preventer HQ. Besides, it was an excuse to hold her in his arms a little longer. Zechs left Noin to take over operations there while he went and found his sister and Lady Une. He was ready for the evening to be over. He could see his future at this point: a nice comfortable bed and his wife to keep him warm. But first he had to find someone else to be in charge of things.


	79. Into the Sunset

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty years old. This is set during Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Into the Sunset**

Noin let out a soft sigh as their shuttle broke orbit. She might have gotten a good eight hours of sleep, but she was still exhausted. At least she'd have plenty of time to rest on their trip to Mars. She shook her head a little. They were off on what amounted to a wild goose chase in some ways. She glanced over at her husband.

"Are you sure? The terraforming project hasn't even officially started yet."

He at least had the good sense to tell her about his plans and invite her to come along with him if that was what she wanted. He had been a little hesitant about the invitation, but Noin chalked that up to Zechs trying to protect her once again. He had some sort of delusion that she might be better off without him. He was letting her know that if she didn't want to be a part of his life, she didn't have to be. He should have known better. He was stuck with her for life. Which was why she was rather irked that he kept asking her if this was really what she wanted.

Zechs gave a slight shrug. "It's something Relena is working on, and it won't be easy. That's why a dead person would be perfect for the job. Noin, are you sure you-"

Noin cut him off before he could finish the question. "Zechs, please don't make me repeat myself, again."

They were together now, and that was what really mattered to Noin. It was enough of happy ending for her.


	80. Off the Map

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty years old. This is set after Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Off the Map**

Noin let out a contented little sigh, her head resting against his shoulder, and Zechs smiled. He wouldn't mind staying like this for the rest of his life. The chess game was long over, that battlefield being surrendered to Noin, and now they were simply resting, recovering from the past few days. They had curled up on one of the bunks, Noin's injured ankle propped up on a pillow. Their course was set for Mars, and to tell the truth, there really was nothing much to do.

He wasn't actually quite sure what they were getting themselves into with the terraforming project. It probably had been slightly impulsive of him to commit to it after only hearing Relena talk about it for about fifteen minutes. But he had spent most of his life destroying things, and he liked the idea of being part of building something for a change. He also liked the idea of finally having a chance for Noin and himself be a couple. Technically, they had been married for two years now. Of course, in the time they had probably only spent a month or two at most in each other's company.

Zechs wasn't quite sure how this marriage thing was supposed to work out. The two of them had married for a number of reasons, both logistical and romantic. That didn't mean they were knew what they were doing. Still, he and Noin had managed to survive revolt, invasion, and war. They would be able to figure it out.

She had agreed to come with him after all. Of course, given her statements earlier, Zechs rather thought if he had just tried to just disappear again, Noin would have drugged him and then tied him up somewhere. It wasn't that he wanted to leave her behind, far from it, but it didn't really seem fair not to give her the option of freeing herself of him. Zechs still didn't really know how things would end up, and quite frankly, she hadn't known what she was getting into when she married him. To be fair, neither did he. Life had turned out quite differently than he'd thought it would.

A sharp elbow in his side jolted him out of his thoughts.

"Stop brooding, Zechs. You're keeping me awake." She pressed a kiss to his throat in apology then yawned. "I've barely slept in the past seventy-two hours. I went straight from a mission to the party and then right back to work."

He ruffled her hair then frowned. "Will they understand why you just up and left with me?"

An impish grin appeared on her face. "I hope so. I think I left Relena a big enough hint. Now, shh. I'm trying to sleep, and my pillow doesn't need to be talking."


	81. Hatful of Stars

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty years old. This is set after Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Hat Full of Stars**

Relena sighed. Her spartan apartment was now cluttered with a handful of boxes. The fact of the matter was that while she could afford a large place, she liked the cozy little studio. Besides, it was a little place all her own where she could just be Relena without having worry about being the vice foreign minister or the Peacecraft heir. Well, except right now since she currently had a recovering Gundam pilot, a kitten, and half a dozen boxes that belonged to her brother's girlfriend.

She had been pleased when her brother had agreed to help out with the Mars Terraforming project she had been working about, and Relena hadn't been surprised when Noin had taken off with him, even if Lady Une had complained about the lack of prior notice with their leaving. However, she hadn't expected Noin to send her the contents of her own apartment when she left. So now she had boxes to go along with Heero and her newly acquired kitten.

Setting her mail down on the table, Relena frowned at the carved wooden box already resting there. She didn't remember having this.

"Relena, do you want hot chocolate or coffee?" Heero's head popped out of the kitchen area. Despite the fact that he was supposed to be here recuperating, Heero had spent much of his time fussing over her. She had been more than a little startled to find the perfect soldier's domestic side, but she wouldn't complain either.

"Hot chocolate please. Do you know where this box came from?"

"Which one?"

"The wooden one with the carvings."

"It came with the rest of the boxes from Noin. There's a letter too." He pressed a mug into her hand then leaned over her shoulder, plucking an envelope from the mess of paperwork on the table.

She quickly tore through the envelope. It was a simple sheet of notepaper with a short message:

_Relena_

_ Sorry to dump all this junk on you, Relena. I didn't have time to make arrange storage before our shuttled needed to leave. Take care of the documents in the box for me. I'll be needing them later. Thanks again._

_Noin_

Relena frowned and reached for the box. She lifted the heavy lid to find an assortment of papers and photographs, all neatly organized. Pulling out the first packet of papers, Relena untied the faded lavender ribbon that held it together. A picture slipped out, and Heero bent to pick it up. Relena began sorting through the papers: her brother's birth certificate, Noin's birth certificate, a thick sheaf of papers, and more photographs. The one that jumped out at her though was a formal portrait. Her brother in full court grab stood behind a chair where Relena, in an adorable christening gown, was set. But what was really surprising about the photo was the little girl who held her. The dark haired girl was clearly Noin, but what on earth was she doing in a formal court portrait?

She went back to that thick sheaf of papers. As far as she could tell, it was a legal contract of some kind between the Contessa of Livorno and the Prince of the Sanc Kingdom. It was when Heero handed her the picture he had recovered that it dawn on her. Her brother and Noin couldn't have been more than four years old in the picture. It was another court portrait though and clearly modeled after the ones of her mother and father. She was holding a marriage contract.

With Heero's help, Relena spent the next half hour investigating the contents of the box. It seemed to amount to all of the legal paperwork for her brother and Noin as well as photographs. What shocked her the most was the packet tied with a white lace ribbon. In it she found pressed lilies of the valley, a marriage license and certificate, legal name change paperwork for Zechs and Noin Marquise, and wedding photos. Her brother and Noin couldn't have been older than eighteen in them. Her brother wore his formal red uniform from Oz while Noin was dressed in a simple sleeveless white gown. Her arms were around his neck, and Relena could see the glint of a ring on her finger, almost hidden by the nosegay of flowers she carried. Zechs was leaning down to kiss her. Noin was her sister by marriage.

"Hn. That explains a lot."

She frowned at Heero. "What do you mean?"

"All the intelligence we ever had on Noin said that she had met Zechs at Lake Victoria. We could never figure out why she was so committed both to him and the Sanc Kingdom. If it was just him it would have been more understandable. Even if she was in love with the man, it didn't explain the level of trust he put in her." Heero smiled; Relena had noticed he was doing that more lately. "But given their history together, it makes perfect sense. He wasn't trusting some random subordinate, albeit an incredibly loyal one. He was trusting his wife."

Relena smiled and considered the wedding photo again. Maybe she could get some of these framed for her sister-in-law. It would be a rather late wedding present, but she couldn't be blamed for that.


	82. Home Sweet Home

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty years old. This is set after Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Home Sweet Home**

It was a good thing that she was used to military life. Otherwise, Noin had a feeling that she might be complaining about her living conditions. The current base for the terraforming project on Mars had all of the charm and luxury of a military base. Some of the people here weren't exactly adjusting well. Given that Noin had spent about half her life in the military, it was actually rather comforting. Though she had to admit it was nice having married couple's quarters rather than being stuck in a bunkroom like the single members of the project.

Oh, not all of them were complaining. There were a fair number of people like Zechs and Noin (military background not the whole Peacecraft legacy) who were here for a fresh start. Quite honestly, it was a comfortable group of people to be with in that regards. Most of the folks involved with the project were young former military or scientists of some sort. It was some of the management and the older scientists who tended to whine. But for the most part everyone was tolerable.

And Zechs was certainly much more than just tolerable. Noin sank back on their bed with a sigh. She'd spent most of her afternoon working on installing another set of generators. As they expanded the operation, there would be a greater need for power, and the engineering team wanted that power there before it was needed. Noin agreed with them certainly, but after several hours of crouching in a uncomfortable position tightening bolts and holding things in place, her back was protesting along with most of her muscles. At least there had been hot water for her shower.

She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to muster the energy to get up for dinner. It wouldn't hurt to just lay here for a few minutes. Despite being exhausted on a regular basis, Noin was fairly happy. The project here was both interesting and a challenge. And the chance to be with Zechs was priceless. They were still feeling their way around this relationship of theirs. It was the little things that they had never really had a chance to know before. Zechs was almost a neat freak while she was more chaotic in her organization. His hair clogging up the shower drain drove her a little crazy. Her habit of knowing both how much time had passed and exactly what time it currently was fascinated him. Neither of them liked washing dishes.

Probably for the first time in their lives they were interacting with other people their age on a fairly level playing field. Neither of them had to worry about the burdens of command or keep appropriate distance from the people they were working with. Of course, Zechs was rather socially awkward at times, but given a good half of the people here were ex-military, it didn't cause too many problems. Zechs was making friends beside her for a change, and Noin couldn't help but be pleased by that. She herself was enjoying the chance to hang out with other women for a change. She and Une had been the two highest ranking in O.Z., and Noin had often been the only woman in her unit, even at Lake Victoria.

At some point, she must have dozed off because she woke to Zechs stroking her hair. He smiled down at her.

"Hey. Have a good nap?"

Noin nodded, stretching slightly.

"Good. I didn't want to wake you, but if you slept much longer we would have missed dinner."

Noin sighed, but she sat up. "Give me two minutes, and I'll be ready to go."

"Not a problem." He brushed a kiss across her forehead.

Noin didn't even try to fight her smile. It didn't really matter where they were or what the condition of their quarters was like as long as Zechs was here with her, she was home.


	83. Little Things

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty-one years old. This is set after Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Little Things**

Zechs had learned a great deal about living with women thanks to the terraforming project. Much of it from his fellow compatriots. He and Noin were not the only young couple here working on the project. In fact, they weren't even the only ones with a relationship explained with the comment 'it's a long story'. In some ways, it was odd to be around men his age that he wasn't in command of. It also was rather nice as well, and they all tended to commiserate when one of them had done something wrong and now was in trouble with the ladies.

He had actually fared better than several of the other men in their group, but even he had managed to have some spectacular fights with Noin in the eight months they'd been on Mars. For all that they loved one another and knew one another well, they had never really lived together before, and that posed problems at times. Of course, no one had managed to top Kara and Lee at this point in the fight department. If a week went by and those two didn't have at least one loud argument, people would start worrying.

One thing Zechs had learned was that when Noin told him that she was spending the afternoon with the girls and to go find something to do with the guys, he shouldn't argue. Especially when she was carrying a carton of chocolate ice cream. The ladies were probably having one of their famous movie marathons, and it behooved males to avoid those. They did it about once a month, and while none of the men were quite sure why they did it, they had gotten used to the event.

Of course, it did leave Zechs in search of company. He had been planning on spending a nice quiet afternoon with his wife since they both had the time free. Clearly that wasn't going to happen today though, and he wasn't really feeling like spending an afternoon alone in his quarters. Given that there was a movie marathon going on somewhere in the complex, there were probably a few other males wandering around trying to figure out what to do with themselves.

It was not hard to find a poker game being started in one of the lounges. Over the past few months the project complex had expanded enough that there were several areas for the various workers to hang out and relax which was something of a relief. There were currently around three hundred people here, and when they only had one small lounge to use, it had been awkward and crowded to say the least. They had more space these days, but Zechs knew it wouldn't last. They were due to get another influx of personal when the project reached its second stage in January.

He pulled up a chair a joined the other men ranged around the table. They were a range of backgrounds and personalities. About half the people here were civilian while half were ex-military. They hadn't always fought on the same sides. That had caused problems a time or two, but for the most part they got along. Almost all of them had joined this project in order to look towards the future whether it was a fresh start or what came next in their lives. Whatever the reasons, they were all here now, and Zechs found himself enjoying their company.

"Did you hear about the latest plans for the anniversary celebration for the project?" Karl asked as he dealt Zechs into the game.

Zechs just shook his head. The one year anniversary of the project's start would be in January. There had been discussions off and on about just what would happen, but they'd never really had any firm plans before.

"Well, among other things, it sounds like we're getting a visit from some government bigwig. Don't know who, but someone is coming. Of course, it won't be until after Christmas."

Wedge groaned. "Don't talk to me about Christmas. The non-essential supply shipments have been delayed again. If we're lucky, we'll get anything we ordered by New Year's. There's an engagement ring in that shipment that supposed to be a Christmas present."

"They'll be here before then," Lee said, sorting through his cards. "The bureaucrats always say things will be delayed, and then everything arrives in a last minute rush just barely in time and once we've given up all hope."

The sound of a chair scrapping against the ground made them all look up as another man joined them. William was older than most of the men at the table (in fact he was Lee's father), and he was nominally in charge of most of them, but at this point, most folks didn't care too much about those distinctions.

"What is it about period romances and women?" he sighed as Karl dealt him a hand of cards.

Zechs winced. "So it's one of those marathons."

William nodded. "I'm pretty sure every woman who's off duty has converged on the main lounge. It's not going to be available for hours."

"What I want to know is how there ended up being a complete set of Jane Austen films on Mars of all places? Especially when we have all of three action flicks?" Roy made a face.

Zechs just shrugged. "It's one of those strange things. Did you know that I've never been on a military base that didn't have at least one Jane Austen film floating around? Even when there was only one or two women assigned to that base."

"All right, folks. We can ponder the mysteries of women later. Right now I'd like to win your money," Karl announced.

There was laughter around the table, and Zechs grinned. This wasn't what he'd expected when he'd signed up for the Mars Terraforming Project, but he was enjoyed it more than he'd ever expected.


	84. Better Days

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty-one years old. This is set after Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Better Days**

His wife was the most beautiful thing in the solar system. Perhaps it was not the most objective of viewpoints, Noin was currently begrimed with Martian soil and machine oil from her work with the generators, but it was his none the less. Zechs leaned over and kissed her nose.

"Done for the day, sweetheart?"

She leaned into him; she seemed utterly exhausted. "Yes, thank god. But the generators should hold barring any major disasters."

He wrapped his arms around her, watching the sky. This was one of the few places in the expanding compound where you could easily see the sky without any barriers. It would another year or so before anyplace other than the main base was safe enough to be out of doors like this without an environment suit. Even after almost a year here on this red planet though, the sunsets on Mars still took his breath away. Of course, they were much better when you didn't have an environmental suit between you and the view.

"Noin."

"Mmm?"

She sounded half asleep already. It wasn't surprising. They had all been working harder than usual to get ready for the governmental visit that would be happening right after New Year's to celebrate the anniversary of the project's start.

"You have tomorrow off."

She sighed. "I know."

He nuzzled her ear. "And thanks to Lee trading shifts with me, I have tomorrow off."

"Oh."

"I thought we could sleep in. Maybe have a picnic lunch."

Noin tilted her head back to look at him. "That sounds lovely."

With his wife snuggled in his arms under a starry sky, Zechs doubted he ever been so content. Even if both of them needed a shower.


	85. Visit of State

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty-one years old. This is set after Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Visits of State**

Somehow it didn't surprise Noin at all when the government official coming for the Mars Terraforming Project's first anniversary turned out to be Relena. This had been Relena's pet project after all, and it only made sense that she would want to come and see how it was doing. Plus Noin knew Relena. The young woman did have quite a flair for politics and political maneuvering, but she much preferred interaction with the actual people she was serving versus dealing with other politicians. Relena would have jumped at the chance to be here, and since Noin could guess who her bodyguard currently was, she doubted the Vice-Foreign Minister had anyone arguing with her about it.

Still, there was probably going to be at least a little awkwardness. It would be the first time that Relena and Zechs had been together since, well, ever. Noin was pretty sure that they had never actually met face to face except for that one time on Libra, and she wasn't going to count that one. It hadn't exactly been an opportunity for a good heart to heart between the two siblings. Zechs had been playing a role that he didn't feel he could deviate from, and Relena had had no idea of what was really going on. So this would be interesting. That was if they didn't kill one another. And if they could find some privacy.

That might be another problem. The Mars Terraforming Project was a small, close knit group of people. Hell, she and Zechs had more friends here than they'd had at Lake Victoria or in O.Z. to be honest. And while people here knew that Zechs was that Zechs Marquise from O.Z. (though oddly enough not all of them had put together the fact that Zechs and Milliardo Peacecraft were the same person), other than a few fights at the beginning, it hadn't been a big deal. Throwing his famous baby sister into the mix might change that. Of course, Noin was assuming that Relena knew that Zechs was going to be here. There was the chance that she might not know. When they'd left Earth, Zechs and Noin hadn't exactly been clear about their plans to other people or left forwarding addresses.

But Noin was looking forward to the visit anyway. The break would be nice for everyone involved with the project, and she was looking forward to seeing her sister-in-law again. And now her sister-in-law would actually know that she and Zechs were married. Even if it did mean that Noin had to dress up and endure a night of boring speeches and high heels. Thankfully, that wouldn't be happening until the second night of the visit.

She and Zechs were not part of the welcome delegation. Just in case. It seemed like a bad moment to surprise Relena if in fact their presence here on Mars was a surprise to her. So instead, the two of them joined their fellow project members at the welcome reception instead. In fact, Noin had just helped herself to coffee and cookies when there was a delighted cry and she was nearly knocked over by a hug. Relena grinned up at her.

"I thought I might find you here." Relena pulled back. "It's good to see you, Sis."

Noin laughed. "I take it you looked through my stuff."

Relena nodded. Noin managed to set down her plate of cookies and cup of coffee in order hug the young woman back. She took a good look at Relena. At seventeen, the teenager looked much more like an adult. Today her dress was on the causal side for a politician, slacks and a sweater. Her long hair was pulled back in a simple tail, and her smile reached her eyes.

"How have you been?"

Noin smiled. "Good. Have you seen your brother yet?"

Relena's face turned a little apprehensive. "No."

Noin just shook her head. Relena and Zechs were more alike than either of them realized. Scanning the room, she spotted Zechs talking with Lee and Roy. Noin grinned and wrapped an arm around the younger woman's shoulders before heading towards the knot of men.

"No time like the present."

Noin tried to keep the mischief out of her eyes as she practically dumped Relena on her brother. Neither of them were going to be willing to confront the situation without a nudge, and it wasn't like there would be bloodshed, just awkwardness. Besides, they might as well get over it since Noin had no intention of playing the go between for the siblings during this visit. She had three days in a row off thanks to Relena's visit, and she planned on enjoying them.


	86. Subtle Diplomacy

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty-one years old. This is set after Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Subtle Diplomacy**

Zechs was probably going to thank his wife for meddling, but he wasn't going to tell her that. At least not anytime soon. Noin had some how managed to trap him in just about every single situation where he and Relena would forced to spend together that she could find. This apparently was much to the amusement of their fellow members of the project. And Zechs had to admit that her techniques had been successful in some ways. He and Relena could now talk to one another without it being completely awkward. Zechs was still having some trouble wrapping his head around all the changes his baby sister had gone through over the years.

The last time had spent any extended amount of time with Relena she had been two years old. Her seventeen year old self was quite different from that toddler. Given what the both of them had been through in the last few years, getting to know one another (for the first time really) was odd to say the least. But they were managing. In many ways it was easier if thought of her as a new acquaintance rather than his baby sister. Still, it was hard to turn off the older brother protectiveness. And he couldn't help but noticing the way she had a permanent shadow in Heero Yuy.

He had mixed feelings about that. On the one hand, no one was likely to be able to harm Relena with Yuy as her personal bodyguard. The young man was both extremely dedicated and extremely competent. On the other hand, Heero Yuy was also a teenage male. Zechs remembered what that was like. Besides, Relena should be too busy running the free world to think about boys. He hoped. Noin found this vastly amusing. Then again, she knew Relena far better than he did.

His baby sister had turned into a young woman that Zechs could both respect and admire. Quite frankly, in many ways her path hadn't been easier than his own, and she had managed to survive it quite well.

"So, what exactly is the story with you and Noin?" Relena's voice drew him back to the moment.

She was glancing across the room to where Noin stood with a knot of other women. All of them were dressed up for this shindig, but Zechs had to acknowledge that whatever they were laughing about probably had more to do with Kara's tendency for rude jokes than normal cocktail party small talk.

"I mean, I know you two are married, and given what I saw in that collection of documents, you've known each other for a long time, but nothing there really told the story."

Zechs shrugged slightly. He often forgot how their relationship looked to an outsider. The relationship had been just his and Noin's for so long, and keeping it that way had prevented them from ever really having to explain.

"It was an arranged marriage, you know. But our parents on both sides thought it made more sense for us to get to know one another early on. So Noin and I met when we were four. She became my best friend. We were pretty much inseparable until the Sanc Kingdom fell. When we met again at Lake Victoria, it was easy to fall back into that, except it became clear before too long that the emotions involved were more intense. We talked over and decided that we did want to get married after all, so once we were both eighteen we did."

Relena gave him an odd look. "That's rather romantic in an oddly spare detail less way."

"I've never had to explain it before. It always just was, and we never wanted to share the information with anyone else. It was safer that way." His lips quirked up in a smile. "Ask Noin if you want details. She was always a better storyteller than me. You have no idea how many times she kept us out of trouble with her tales."

His sister tipped her head to the side. "Really? You two don't exactly strike me as the type to be getting into trouble?"

Zechs laughed. "That's because you've only known us when we've been acting like mature and responsible adults. Noin and I have gotten into our fair share of trouble over the years. Especially when we were younger."

Across the room, Noin watched the two of them chatting and smiled.


	87. His Polaris

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty-two years old. This is set after Endless Waltz.

* * *

**His Polaris**

The soft light from Mars' moons illuminated the pale skin of the figure laying in the bed next, causing the delicate chain of stars around her throat to glimmer. Zechs gently traced the curve of his wife's neck. Tonight had been their anniversary, and Noin was worn out from their celebrations. It was technically their fourth anniversary, even though they had only really celebrated two of them.

It had been two years since they had arrived on Mars. Exhausted from the aftermath of the Barton Incident, he and Noin had quietly settled into a fairly normal life. Noin had joined the engineers of the project while he took on just about anything he could help with. It was a small community, mostly singles and couples in their early twenties and thirties. The two of them had spent their first six months there adjusting to both living as a couple for the first time.

Despite the fact they had known each other for most of their lives, it had not been an easy first six months. Zechs didn't think he had ever fought that much with her in his entire life. It wasn't just the two of them though. His reputation had followed him, and the others at the Terraforming Project were not quite sure what to make of him. It had taken time for them to accept him let alone befriend him, though some more than others. There were quite a few ex-military people here, and Zechs got along with them far more easily than with the civilians. It had taken time, but he was a member of this community now, and everyone accepted that, even if some still didn't like it. Zechs knew who his friends were and who he could trust. Probably for the first time in his life, he couldn't count all of them on one hand either.

And he was getting to know his little sister as well. Relena as a person rather than a memory. Noin had had a hand in that as well. Once again, she had guided him towards where he needed to be. Noin shifted in her sleep, hair falling across her face. Zechs brushed it away. Things had worked out though. For the first time in their lives, they had actually been fairly normal young people. Well, fairly normal young people with a military background, but at least they weren't the only ones like that. And Noin had been beside him the entire time. Even when they were screaming obscenities at each other, she had still remained there with him. She remained his constant as she had since he had found her again at Lake Victoria. She was his north star, his Polaris. He honestly didn't know what he would do without her.

She stirred again and let out a sleepily little sigh. A pair of violet eyes peered at him.

"Zechs?" She pressed a kiss to the base of his neck. "What are you thinking about?"

His fingers skimmed across her cheek. "You mostly."

"Oh?"

Zechs kissed her forehead. "I'm very glad you're here with me."

"There's no place that I'd rather be."

He traced the stars around her neck again before kissing her. Noin slipped an arm around his neck, her hand sliding through his hair.

"You know, you couldn't get rid of me if you tried." She smiled up at him.

"I know." He pulled her closer. "_La mia stella del nord._"

He kissed her forehead and her nose. "_Il mio Polaris_."

She shifted, and suddenly Zechs found his wife perched on top of him. With an impish grin, she leaned over him, breath ghosting over his skin.

"_È stato un anniversario molto piacevole._" She kissed first one cheek then the other. "_Ti amo, il mio marito._"

He reached for her hands, feathering kisses over her fingertips.

"_La notte ancora finito,_" his hands sliding into her hair, bringing her still closer, "_il mio amore._"

He kissed her, holding the only star he ever wanted to reach.

* * *

Italian Translation:

My north star. My Polaris.

It has been a very nice anniversary. I love you, my husband.

The night is not yet over, my love.


	88. Prior Engagements

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty-two years old. This is set after Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Prior Engagements**

Noin was actually expecting the call from Relena. She had known where the young woman's relationship with Heero Yuy was headed from the start. So she wasn't all that surprised when Relena called them and announced her engagement to Heero. And she wasn't at all surprised by Zechs' reaction to it. Oh, he had been happy for her and congratulated her during their conversation. And now he was stalking around their quarters, muttering under his breath and ranting about the fact that his baby sister was getting married and what a bad idea it was. The man could write the book on being an overprotective older brother despite the fact that he had very little interaction with his little sister.

Though she knew that despite his current ranting, Zechs really didn't mind that it was Heero Yuy who his baby sister was engaged to. His reaction would have probably been much worse it was someone else. Zechs trusted Heero to protect Relena's life. The idea that his baby sister had a love life was just difficult for him to deal with at times. He had managed to come around to the idea of Relena dating, but the engagement had thrown him. Zechs really didn't deal with change well at times. Besides, it really wasn't like he had room to protest. After all, the two of them had gotten married when they were about the same age.

And while Relena might only be eighteen, she had more experience under her belt than many adults. Noin thought that the marriage would probably work out well for both Relena and Heero. It wasn't like they didn't know what they were getting into. Both were well aware of the other's faults, and they knew what to expect from one another's jobs. Besides, Noin had always thought that the two teenagers fit together well.

She was pretty much tuning out her husband's ranting. Zechs would cool off soon enough, and by the time the wedding actually rolled around, he would probably be reasonable about the whole idea. From what Relena had indicated, it would be at least six month if not longer before the wedding. A date hadn't been set yet, and given Relena's rather hectic schedule these days, it might be awhile. Somehow, Noin didn't think that it was going to be the quiet event that she and Zechs had shared, but that was fine as long as Relena was happy with it.

The wedding also meant that she and Zechs would be heading back to Earth sometime in the near future. Noin wasn't entirely sure how she felt about that. They had built a rather comfortable life here on Mars so far. They both got along fairly well with their colleagues here, and the issue of Zechs' past action had pretty much become a non-issue with most of them. However, that probably wouldn't be the case when they got back to Earth. It was a little concerning. Given who Relena was, security would probably be tight at the wedding and the events leading up to it, but Noin still had some concerns.

Though it would be good to see Sally and the others again. She had some infrequent contact with the others, but for the most part, she had no idea what was going on in their lives at this date. It would be great to see everyone and catch up at the wedding. She sighed when she realized that Zechs was still fussing over this. As much as she understood his feelings on the matter (even if she didn't share them), Noin did not want to spend their day off with him in a funk over Relena's upcoming marriage.

So the next time he passed her in his pacing, Noin caught his hand and pulled him down onto the bed beside her. Zechs blinked at her, startled, and that was all the time she gave him to react before she kissed him. He could brood about Relena's love life later. Today was their day off, and Noin had plans for them both which were much more enjoyable.


	89. Down to Earth

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty-two years old. This is set after Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Down to Earth**

They weren't the only ones exiting the shuttle from Mars. Several others from the project were back on Earth to give status updates, purchase supplies, and do some recruiting. Zechs didn't mind that at all. He was more comfortable slipping away from the crowd with Noin rather than having all of the attention focused on the two of them. Relena's wedding had turned into quite the event, and Zechs was hoping to fly under the radar for most of it.

He watched as Noin laughed with Kara and Iella as the three women collected their bags and headed for the exit. Zechs completed the last of the post-flight paperwork and went to get his own bag. He wasn't sure what to expect from the next week and a half. It had been years since he'd attended a formal wedding. Zechs was pretty sure that his own wedding didn't count. After all, he and Noin had a brief ceremony and that was pretty much it. They had dressed up for the event and taken some pictures, but it wasn't like there had even been guests saves for their two witnesses. And Zechs had thankfully been able to attend any weddings while he had been in O.Z. He had been invited, it was true, but duty often made for a convenient excuse.

So he really had no idea what to expect when it came to Relena's wedding. Zechs knew that it was going to be a big event, and that he was giving away the bride. And that she was marrying Heero Yuy. Other than that, he really had no idea what to expect. He knew that Noin and Relena had been talking over wedding plans for quite awhile, but he really hadn't paid that much attention. Thankfully, he did have at least a week until the wedding actually took place.

The pair had no trouble catching their flight. Relena had decided to get married in Ireland of all places, and they would be meeting her in Dublin. In some ways, Zechs could understand her choice. Relena wanted her wedding to be about her, not about her family history. Still, he would have preferred a location that didn't require so much traveling. Of course, that could just be the jet lag talking. At least their travels went well, and there were no problems picking up their rental car at the other end. Noin had imperiously demanded the keys, and he had handed them over to her without a fight. They didn't talk about that one incident with the jeep in when they'd been at Lake Victoria.

A half hour later, Noin parked the car in front of a manor house outside the city limits. The old building was beautiful, and Zechs found himself oddly nervous. His wife just shut down the car with a sigh.

"I want a hot shower and to sleep for at least six hours." She offered him a tired smile. "Do you think we can skip the meet and greet until after that?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." He bit back a yawn. Sleep sounded absolutely wonderful.

To Zechs' utter relief, it was Pagan who answered the door when the knocked, and the butler was more than happy to show them immediately back to their room. As much as he was looking forward to seeing his sister, his brain wasn't functioning at the moment, and sleep was high on his list of priorities. Zechs didn't remember much after collapsing onto the bed. When he did pry his eyes open later, he found his sister leaning over him.

"Hey, sleepyhead. I'd let you sleep longer, but Noin said you'd be grumpy if you didn't get at least some breakfast."

"Huh?"

Relena just laughed. "Wake up. Breakfast is downstairs, but since Duo's here, I can't promise there'll be anything left if you don't get down there fast."

"What times is it?"

"Ten in the morning." His sister turned and headed towards the door. "Oh, and Noin says if she doesn't see you in thirty minutes or less, she's getting a bucket of water."

He mumbled some sort of reply and turned his mind to the business of waking up. He'd worry about the wedding and everything else after he'd gotten some caffeine in his system.


	90. The Wedding of the Century

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty-two years old. This is set after Endless Waltz.

* * *

**The Wedding of the Century**

"We really should be out there." There was little conviction in her voice.

Zechs just drew his wife closer. There was no way he was about to brave the battlefield outside their hiding place anytime soon. Yes, he was the brother of the bride, but he wasn't interested in the least bit about venturing out into the chaos of the rehearsal dinner. The rehersal itself had been bad enough. If it had been limited to the participants in the ceremony, it might have been fine, but when you threw in Relena's adoptive mother and the rest of the Darlian family as well as Relena's staff and the security team, things got more complicated. Then there was the fact that several of the bridesmaids and the groomsmen were politicians, and they had brought their staff too. Suffice it to say, it was not exactly a low key affair.

Noin sighed and shifted so she was now sitting in his lap. "I'm supposed to be the matron of honor."

"And when did that include braving that mob out there? Relena said she wanted a simple wedding. I'm not sure how that translates to five hundred guests, full media coverage, and political candidates. And we haven't even gotten to that part yet." He rest his chin on her shoulder. "If Relena has any sense, she's doing the same thing we are."

"It's not everyday that the Vice Foreign Minister and former Queen of the World gets married you know."

"She was my baby sister first," he grumbled. "If one more person asks me who I'm supporting in the upcoming election, I swear I'm going back to the whole destroy the world plan. And don't get me started on the number of women who have tried to seduce me in the past three days. I'm a happily married man."

Noin nuzzled his cheek. "Send them to me, and I'll set them straight. It's just two more days anyway until the wedding anyway. Then we can get away from this madhouse for a while."

Zechs captured her lips for a kiss. "I'm still not going back out into that circus. At least, not until the ceremony."

A blond head poked into their little nook. "Hey. Can we come hide in here with you? We have food."

Noin laughed. "Come on in, Relena."

The bride slipped in closely followed by the groom, both carrying copious amounts of food from the buffet. As the four of them set up an impromptu picnic dinner, Zechs grinned at his sister.

"You know, you could always elope."


	91. Vacation's End

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty-two years old. This is set after Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Vacation's End**

Noin rest her head on his shoulder, letting out a soft sigh. Zechs just tightened his grip on her as they continued to sway to the music. The wedding reception was coming to a close. Relena and Heero would be making their escape shortly, and then he and Noin would have one more day off before rejoining the others from the Mars Terraforming Project to finalize any arrangements needed and head back to the red planet. But he didn't really have to think about work just yet.

Relena's wedding had gone off without a hitch. Of course, part of that probably had to do with the amount of security the Preventers had provided, but still, it had been a success. His little sister had looked happy and beautiful throughout the ceremony. Though Zechs would have to admit that his attention had been more on the woman standing beside her. The peacock blue that Relena had chosen for her bridesmaids' gowns suited Noin perfectly, and Zechs rarely got to see his wife all dressed up like this.

Zechs had found the ceremony itself rather boring. He'd spent Relena's highly formal wedding mostly staring at his wife. The reception had been a great deal more fun, though Zechs still found himself dealing with unwanted attention from some of the ladies present. Noin's almost constant presence by his side deterred them somewhat, but Zechs still found himself being propositioned more than once. But the toasts had been both touching and lighthearted, and the food was good. Relena and Heero had cut the cake a few minutes ago, and all that was really left was the bouquet and garter toss.

He would say the day had been a success. Relena seemed utterly happy and content. Even Yuy was smiling. Noin pressed a kiss to his throat.

"You're thinking too hard. Relax. Quatre and Trowa are responsible for making sure that Relena and Heero get out of here on time, and Cathy is running the clean up crew. All of our reception responsibilities are done with. We can enjoy the rest of our vacation."

Zechs laughed softly. "All one day and nine hours left of it?"

"Exactly." She smiled up at him. "Zechs, the last time we had a vacation, we got married, remember?"

"Of course." He stole a kiss. "It was the best vacation of my military career."

"It was your only vacation of your military career."

"That too."

They continued to sway together, in a world of their own despite the other couples on the dance floor. The last time they had danced like this, they both had been in dirty coveralls, and they had been in the mess hall on Mars instead of a grand ballroom. But it didn't matter where they were or what they were wearing. All that really mattered to Zechs was his company. And he didn't need a vacation to remind him of that, though he had to admit that it was nice. But in the end the only thing that mattered was the fact than even when their vacation was over, they'd still be going home together. It would be the first time his vacation had ended that way, and Zechs could definitely say he liked that development.


	92. Unexpected Changes

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty-three years old. This is set after Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Unexpected Changes**

Noin closed her eyes and breathed through her nose for a long moment. Zechs rest a gentle hand on the back of her neck.

"Are you all right?"

She nodded slightly. "I think so. Just a little dizzy."

He frowned at her. "Fumes?"

She had been working on the backup generators all afternoon, but she didn't normally have this sort of reaction to the grease and other smells. "I'm not sure."

The dizziness had passed thought, and she smiled at her husband. "Whatever it was, I'm fine now. Let's get some dinner before the crowd arrives."

The population on Mars had nearly tripled in the last year. No one would recognize the main base now. It was almost at the same level of civilization as many of the colonies. And as the project had gotten truly establish, there had been an influx of people intending to settle permanently on Mars. It had changed a number of things with the dynamic around the place. For one thing, now there were settlers and there were those of them who had come to worker on the project. While a number of the people who had signed on to the project from the beginning had intended to stay, there was a clear line between the old and the new.

The older group had bonded over everything from unexpected power outages and water shortages to a month of having exactly three meal options: mac and cheese, curry rice, or oatmeal. And more importantly to Noin, the older group had already worked out all their issues regarding Zechs. That was not always true of the new group of settlers, and while she found their reactions understandable at times, Noin was not exactly happy about them. Probably in another year or so, she and Zechs might think about relocating. They wouldn't be the only ones.

But it wasn't time to start considering that just yet, and dinner with her husband and friends sounded good before the rush hit the mess hall they typically frequented. There were now a few restaurants around, but they were always crowded, and Zechs and Noin's quarters (even the new updated ones they'd moved into earlier this year) didn't have more than a pittance of a kitchenette. Besides, most often after a day of work, neither of them were in the mood to cook.

It was easy enough to grab dinner and find a space at one of the tables snagged by their friends. In the end four couples were seated around the large round table. They ate amid stories about their day and laughter. It was absolutely normal these days, and Noin enjoyed it. The past few years had given Zechs and herself a social life for the first time that didn't involve concerns about who was going to kill you the next day. Even when they had been in the military, they had never had a camaraderie like this with their fellow soldiers.

She reached for her coffee before wrinkling her nose and putting it back; it smelled off somehow. Across the table, Kara caught the gesture.

"Don't tell me they've gone back to using that old crap again. We finally had decent coffee out here, even if it took nearly a year and half."

Noin shook her head. "I don't think they've changed it. I'm probably not in the mood for coffee. Besides, I could probably do without the caffeine."

Zechs looked slightly concerned. "You're sure you're not coming down with something?"

She just shrugged. "Probably just exhaustion. I was supposed to be done with those generators hours ago."

Which was why she wrote off oversleeping the next morning as well. However, she also had a slightly overprotective husband, and when she was still feeling a little off at the end of the day, he insisted on dragging her to the medical department in the morning. Noin had simply gone along with it. Letting Zechs get the overprotectiveness out of his system was typically the best way to deal with these situations. So she perched on the bed while a nurse took her temperature and blood pressure and noted her symptoms. Then the woman flashed her a smile.

"I'm going to draw some blood for a quick test. I'm pretty sure I know what this is, but let's be sure."

Fifteen minutes she had the results. The nurse smiled at the waiting pair.

"Congratulations. It looks like you two are expecting."

Zechs' eyes went very wide, and stunned would be a mild description of his look. Despite all the concerns and fears that had popped into her mind with those words, Noin couldn't help the giggles the spilled from her lips. She hadn't ever seen that expression on Zechs face before. He reached out and entwined their fingers, and Noin squeezed his hand. This wasn't something they had been expecting, but they'd face it together.


	93. Planning Ahead

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty-three years old. This is set after Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Planning Ahead**

Zechs was still having some trouble wrapping his head around the fact that Noin was pregnant. That they were going to be having a child. He had never really thought too much about that idea before. Quite frankly, Zechs was still sometimes amazed that he was still alive at all. When he had hatched his plan for revenge all those years ago, he hadn't really imagined a happy ending with Noin and a family. Noin would be a fantastic mother. He knew that. He was a little less certain about his own parenting abilities.

There was also the fact that they needed to make some decisions now rather than later when Noin would be less able to travel or able to do other things. Not that he was about to let her do any heavy lifting or work the long hours she had been, but if they ended up moving into larger quarters, it would probably be better to do than when she could still help out to some extent. Otherwise, Noin might get a little testy. There was probably a whole list of things they would need for the baby as well, some of which might need to be ordered. The Mars Terraforming Project might have expanded somewhat to include families, but few of them had extremely young children at this point, and there had yet to be a baby born on Mars yet, though there were currently three expectant mothers on the planet. Four if you counted Noin.

That was another concern of his. The project did have a medical staff, but it wasn't like they had a full hospital with an obstetrics department if anything wrong. Currently there were two pediatricians on staff, and neither of them had much experience with delivering babies in anything other than normal conditions. Which worried Zechs because it seemed that the further Noin got into her pregnancy, the worse she seemed to feel. Her morning sickness was more like all the time sickness, and her doctor had some concerns about her blood pressure. If anything went really wrong here, they were too far away from any place to get help in less than twelve hours.

So returning to Earth was on the table. Zechs had mixed feelings about that. But they didn't matter if it was what was best for Noin and their child. The intensity of his attachment to their unborn child had startled him. There were very few people in life that Zechs had felt strongly about. Noin and Relena were pretty much the only two he had left. He hadn't even met this child yet, but the idea of a little boy or girl with Noin's hair and his eyes made his heart tighten. And made him panic a little.

The click of a camera shuttered pulled him from his thoughts. Noin laughed. "No one is going to believe me about that goofy grin of yours if I don't have proof."

Zechs drew her into his arms and just held her tight. He hadn't thought about his personal future when he'd first made plans for revenge all those years ago, but he wasn't going to give this one up for anything.


	94. Home

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty-three years old. This is set after Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Home**

Zechs surveyed his office with a sigh. Given the current state of things, if he was lucky, he would be done by nine. Right now that was a big if. But the mountains of paperwork wouldn't take care of themselves, so he simply sighed again and waded into the fray. He had been back at Preventer HQ for nearly three months now, but it wasn't the same. Instead of his beloved Noin, he shared an office with one Preventer Stone. He was a decent preventer, but their personalities didn't quite mesh, and he wasn't Zechs' partner.

Noin was currently seven months pregnant and confined to bed rest. She wasn't happy about the situation, but there was little she could do about it either. They had been lucky that Dr. Gainsborough had caught the problem when she did back on Mars. They had been able to get Noin back to Earth and its more advanced medical facilities with little risk involved. It would be at least a year before they could return to Mars, so Zechs had returned to his old job at Preventer Headquarters.

It hadn't taken him long to settle back into the swing of things, even if he wasn't thrilled about having his partner change almost every other week it seem. And it was nice to see Relena on a fairly regular basis. Other than that though, not much had changed. He and Noin had settle in a little villa situated above the city. It was a slightly longer commute than he liked, but the house was too charming pass up. It was strange working without Noin at his side, but he was not about to risk either her or their child, so he put up with his revolving door of temporary partners. He had the feeling that Une was using him as a training exercise of some sort. It would make sense. With another sigh, Zechs turned to the mountains of paperwork. Woolgathering would not get all this done.

It was nine when Zechs finally surrendered the battle to the paperwork. He slipped into the quiet house, not bothering to turn on the lights. All he wanted was to be back at his wife's side; sleep would also be nice. Kicking off his shoes, Zechs dumped his briefcase on the couch and went in search of his wife.

He found her propped up in bed, a book abandoned on the sheets beside her. Moonlight from the open window spilled across her face, highlighting the dark lashes resting on her cheeks. One hand lay across her gravid belly. He covered it with his own, hoping to feel the baby kick. There was a soft flutter of movement, and a pair of violet eyes flickered open.

"You're son has been keeping me up again."

"Our daughter simply takes after her mother, curious about everything." He kissed her forehead. "Would you like a cup of hot chocolate?"

"Please." She tugged him down for a kiss. "Welcome home, Zechs."

He smiled, heading for the kitchen. This was what he had fought the wars for: a home and a family. This was all he would ever need.


	95. Sheer Panic

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty-four years old. This is set after Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Sheer Panic**

She had realized that something had gone wrong early on. Noin had known from the beginning that this was not another trip to the hospital with false labor like the last few. It hurt more for one thing. And the nurse attending to her when she was admitted seemed far more concerned than a regular labor called for. Which made Noin worry. They had known ever since she'd been diagnosed with pre-eclampsia that there could be complications with the baby's delivery, but there had been so few problems in the last few month, Noin had been lulled into a sense that everything was all right.

Zechs had held her hand tightly. Noin remembered that, and she remembered pain and doctor's voices. Everything else was fuzzy. What she did know was that she was currently in a bed not her own. There was an IV in her arm, and she felt drugged, and she was alone in the room. This was quickly followed by panic which forced her eyes open.

Noin found herself alone in a hospital room, hooked up to a number of monitors. There was no sign of either her husband or her child. Reasons for that filled her head, and she pressed the call button, terrified by the possibilities. Something had gone wrong, and her baby wasn't here. She was pretty heavily drugged. Dozens of different scenarios played out in her head. The nurse arrived just as Noin had decided that getting herself out of this bed and looking for answers might be the solution she needed.

"Mrs. Marquise, you're awake. That's good. How do you feel?"

"Where is my baby?"

The woman smiled. "She's with your husband. We just need to run a few tests before you can see them."

Noin's panic eased a bit at that, but it wasn't until Zechs stepped through the door, cradling little bundle wrapped in a lilac blanket that Noin could breath easy. It only took one look at his face for her to know that he had been just as scared.

"Noin." He crossed the room in few steps and was beside her. One hand reached out to gently brush her cheek. "You're all right."

Her eyes went to the baby. "Is that?"

Zechs gently settled the child in her arms. "Our daughter. She's just fine. Scored a nine out of ten on her Apgar test."

She glanced down at the baby in her arms. Dark fuzz covered the girl's head, and she nuzzled closer to Noin's chest. She looked back up at her husband who looked suspiciously teary. He just leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"I thought I'd lost you for a while there." There was a world of fear and terror in that sentence.

"I'm okay." She glanced back down at her daughter. "We all are."

Panic wasn't what was filling her chest anymore.


	96. Midnight Vigil

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty-four years old. This is set after Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Midnight Vigil**

Zechs could not move. He was literally frozen in place as he watched his daughter sleep. Noin was asleep in the next room. When Caryn had woken him with her crying, he'd immediately gone to sooth her. Noin was exhausted as it was, and if she wasn't needed for a late night feeding, Zechs was determined to let her sleep. Caryn had settled almost as soon as he'd picked her up, and now he could seem to put her down. The tiny girl in his arms was so tiny and delicate, and she had more power over him than he'd ever imagined.

Both Caryn and Noin had only been home from the hospital for about a week now. Noin was tired and slightly weak, but his wife was making as full recovery. Their daughter was perfectly happy and healthy, even if it seemed like all she really did was eat and sleep. That didn't really matter to him though. In some ways, it was hard to believe that Caryn was really here with them. Never mind that they'd spent the last seven months knowing she was coming, but actually having her here was something else entirely. The idea that he was actually a father, that he actually had a family was really only just beginning to sink in.

He'd been terrified when there had been complications. It had been even worse when he'd been summarily kicked out of the room. It had been nearly an hour later when someone had finally come and told him that his daughter was alive and well and that his wife was in surgery. Thankfully, the nurse had also had the sense to take him almost immediately to the nursery to introduce him to his daughter. He'd been allowed to wait there, holding Caryn while he waited for news about Noin. Zechs had also gotten a basic course in newborn infant care from one of the nurses as well.

It had been the worst two hours of his life, but in the end, Noin had been fine. And now he had both his girls home with him, and they were both safe and sound. And asleep. Zechs pressed a gentle kiss to Caryn's downy head. Now that she was definitely asleep again, he really should go get some sleep of his own. However, he couldn't seem to bring himself to put Caryn back in her bassinet. He smiled down at her. Holding her a few more minutes couldn't hurt.


	97. Daddy's Little Girl

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty-five years old. This is set after Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Daddy's Little Girl**

With dark hair and a winsome smile, Caryn Fidelia Marquise had her father wrapped around her finger. Noin leaned against the doorframe watching her husband entertain their one year old daughter with a teddy bear. Caryn had taken after her in looks except for her eyes. When she had been born, they were ice blue like her father's. They had darkened with time, but they were still a hue somewhere between dark blue and violet.

Caryn giggled and reached for Zechs' hair. She was her daddy's princess. Zechs had been nervous about fatherhood, but during the pregnancy he'd settled down. At least until Caryn's birth. That had scared him more than nearly killing her with Epyon. Not that Noin blamed him. It had terrified her.

She'd been diagnosed with pre-eclampsia early in her pregnancy and spent most of the nine months on bed rest. Childbirth had nearly killed both her and her daughter. She had known something was going wrong, but the doctors wouldn't or couldn't tell her what was wrong, and she had been terrified for her baby.

They had both survived. Caryn, once out of the birth canal, had been strong and healthy. Noin herself had needed a transfusion and surgery and had been kept two days for observation at the hospital. And it had been worth it. Noin wouldn't give Caryn up for anything. It helped to know that her daughter would never have to go through the things she and Zechs had as children. Besides, Zechs made a wonderful father, and for all that they'd never really discussed having a family back when they'd been making their plans for a life together, somehow, this all felt right.

Caryn looked up, spotting her in the doorway.

"Mama!"

Caryn took several unsteady steps toward her. Zechs turned towards her with a grin. "Dinner?"

"On the table." Noin scooped up her daughter, setting the girl on her hip.

Her husband leaned in to kiss her. Caryn grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled. "Dada!"

Zechs just sighed and kissed his daughter's cheek.

Noin just grinned. "We definitely know who's pulling the strings in this relationship."

Caryn pointed to her mother and imperiously ordered. "Kiss."

Zechs laughed and kissed her, wrapping his arms around them both, and Noin didn't think she'd ever seen him happier. She doubted she had ever been either.


	98. Playdate

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty-seven years old. This is set after Endless Waltz.

* * *

**Playdate**

Noin smiled as she watched her daughter play with two of the other children in the room. It had been Relena's idea to throw together a playdate, but most of the families asked had thought it a good idea. Noin had actually been rather surprised with just how many people she knew had young children; there were over a dozen children under the age of six here. Of course, the whole idea had probably been spurred by the fact that Relena was five months pregnant and had a tendency to interrogate any other parent she came across. Noin had no doubt that Relena would make a good mother, but when the young woman decided to invest herself in a fact finding mission, she tended to go all out.

It was a nice way to spend the afternoon. Caryn and her friends seemed perfectly happy to scribble with the crayons. Noin recognized Aurora Adama from Caryn's daycare, and their other companion was Sai Lien Chang. Sally's daughter was a year younger than the other two girls, but none of them seemed to mind. It was hard for her to believe at times that Caryn had turned three in the past month. She seemed to grow so fast. The fact that her daughter was walking and talking when it seemed like she had just been an infant not so long ago was a little mind boggling.

Caryn was perfectly happy child, and despite the fact that her father was spoiling her rotten, she was well behaved as well. And Noin (who had never had more than vague dreams about having a child with Zechs) couldn't imagine life without her now. There had been challenges adapting to life with a child in it, but Noin liked how things had turned out. She ran the Preventers' training program these days. Zechs still worked as a field operative to some extent, but not as much as he used to. Their weekends were spent on family outing, trying to get the laundry done, and sometimes just catching up on sleep. Caryn might be well behaved, but she had more energy than Duo at times.

"Here, Mama."

She takes of the offered piece of paper. The artwork is rough, but Noin can figure out who the three people in the picture are anyway. The tallest figure with yellow hair is Zechs. The person with dark hair next to him is herself. And the little figure that stands between them is Caryn. There is green grass beneath their feet and a yellow sun in the sky.

"Thank you, sweetheart."

"Welcome." Caryn flashed her a smile before running back to her friends.

One of the other mothers caught her eye, and they shared a smile. A pair of hands rest on her shoulder, and Zechs leaned down to speak in her ear.

"Having fun?"

"I'd say so."

He pressed a kiss to her cheek before glancing down at the picture in her lap. "Is there still any room in the art gallery on the refrigerator?"

Noin laughed. "We'll find space somewhere."

Smiling, the two of them watched their daughter play.


	99. A Princess' Bedtime Tale

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty-eight years old. This is set after Endless Waltz.

* * *

**A Princess' Bedtime Tale**

"Daddy, tell me a story."

Zechs sat down at the foot of Caryn's bed. "Which story do you want, princess? Cinderella? Beauty and the Beast?"

The raven haired five year old pouted. "I want a new story."

"What kind of story?"

"A fairytale, Daddy. One with a prince and happy ending."

"All right. Let's see what I can do." He bit his lip. "Once upon a time, there was a young prince who loved a star. She wasn't just any star though. She was the North Star. Every day she would come down from the heavens to play with the prince before returning at twilight each night."

Caryn pulled her teddy bear closer, snuggling into her pillow. "Did the star have name, Daddy? What about the prince?"

"Prince Tristan and the star was called Yvainne." He brushed the bangs out of her eyes. "May I continue? One day, Yvainne was stolen from the prince. Tristan waited all day for her, but she did not show up at the meadow where they played. That night she did not appear in the sky."

His daughter's eyes were wide. "What happened, Daddy?"

"Prince Tristan searched for his star. He found her nowhere. As time passed, he lost hope, and his heart began to harden. His duties consumed him, and soon all he cared about was doing them."

Caryn yawned. "Did he ever find his star again?"

"I'm getting there, princess." He tucked her teddy bear under the covers. "Tristan was sent on a mission to a foreign country, but on his way he was attacked. He tried to fight his enemies off, but there were too many of them. However, a figure dressed in grey came to his aid. Once they had fought off his enemies…and you're sound asleep. I didn't think I was that boring."

Zechs kissed his daughter's forehead, tucking the blankets more securely around her. "Sweet dreams, princess."

He turned off the lamp and headed for the door. A figure moved from the shadows in the door frame.

"So, what did happen to the prince and his star?"

His arms slid around his wife, and he leaned down to kiss her.

"His star found him and beat some sense into him."

Noin laughed, gently shutting the door to their daughter's bedroom. "That sounds like a happy ending."

Zechs took her by the hand, heading for their bedroom. "It was."


	100. Where the Heart Is

Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. Both Zechs and Noin are twenty-eight years old. This is set after Endless Waltz. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story. A special thank you to karina001 who has reviewed every single chapter.

* * *

**Where The Heart Is**

His wife was asleep. Noin was curled up half on top of him with her head nestled against his shoulder. Zechs smiled at the sight. It was a familiar one now, but it still took his breath away sometimes. When he was four, he would have never imagined that the girl who was his best friend would become his refuge in the world. When he was thirteen, he hadn't realized that she was his anchor in more ways than one. And when he was eighteen, he couldn't envision a future for the two of them, just one for her.

But he had a future of his own now. One that included Noin and the precious little girl asleep down the hall. And he knows that there was never a time in his life after they'd first met when Noin didn't hold his heart, even if he hadn't known it then. Time after time she'd proved herself to be his constant, his hope, his salvation. Zechs knew that he would have never survived this long without her. If their paths had not crossed at Lake Victoria, he has no doubt that his revenge would have consumed him utterly.

Noin had given him a north star to follow throughout all of this. Even when he had been lost, he could at least find her, even when she wasn't with him. He wouldn't have had any sort of future without her, and there were still days that Zechs couldn't believe how happy he was with his life.

Beside him, Noin shifted in her sleep, cuddling closer to him. Zechs pressed a soft kiss to her temple, and a pair of sleepy violet eyes opened.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, _carissima_." He smiled at her. "Just thinking."

She chuckled, her voice husky from sleep. "Well, stop. You're keeping up, and if you insist on that, it had better be for something more interesting than watching you brood."

"I'm not brooding," he protested.

"No?" She studies his face, her eyes soft and searching. "Good. You're still keeping me up though."

Zechs rolled her beneath him. "I should do something about that then. _Ti amo, cara_."

She kissed him back, her mouth soft and sweet against his own, before pulling back.

"_Ti amo, _Zechs."

Here wrapped up in one another's arms and love was all the home he'll ever need. And hours later when Caryn crawled into bed with them because of nightmares, Zechs held them both close to his heart and slipped back asleep, utterly peaceful and content.

* * *

Italian Translation:

dearest

I love you, dear.


End file.
